


Reaching Zenith

by IceKrystal13



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Ancient Egyptian Deities, Childhood Friends, Children of Characters, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, F/M, Friendship, High School, Idols, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Japanese Culture, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Canonical Character(s), Murder Mystery, Next Generation, Next-Gen, Original Character(s), Psychology, Saving the World, Shadows (Persona 4), Social Links
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-05-10 13:45:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 56,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5588194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceKrystal13/pseuds/IceKrystal13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having followed in her mother's footsteps, Rui Shirogane was a renowned detective before an accident hospitalizes her. After her release, she returns home to Inaba to restart her life. But she didn't expect to gain the ability to summon an Egyptian pharaoh or having to travel to a hidden world that appears every night at midnight. It's time to solve more murders. P3/4 Second Gen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_2022._

_Newborn._

* * *

The hospital's hallway was lit brightly, pristine and white. Light reflected off the walls and floor, contributing to the luminosity. But it wasn't quiet and calm in the maternity ward.

"Ohhh, I wish I could go in there!" Rise exclaimed in exasperation, putting her hands on her hips as she turned to face her husband, children, and friends. "The suspense is killing me!"

They had all gathered to support Kanji and Naoto as they brought their first child into the world. It was a very exciting time, seeing as the couple was second to last of the group to finally have a child. Everyone else had a well established family, whether they wanted it or not.

"I'm sure everything's okay," Yu said calmly; he was sitting down in a chair, holding his and Rise's four month old son, Sora, in his arms. "Relax."

"I know, I know," she sighed, now clasping her hands behind her back. "I'm just so excited!"

Yukiko, who was eight months pregnant with her first child with her husband, giggled a little, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Oh no," Chie groaned, pressing a hand to her temple. "Please don't start. I already have a headache."

Yukiko just giggled louder. Everyone sighed. The laughter made Iruka, Yosuke and Chie's three month old son, stir, about to start crying.

"No no, don't cry," Yosuke said hastily, almost frantic. "Shhhhh..." He spoke in soothing tones, rocking the child gently, and successfully calmed him.

"Wow, Yosuke," said Teddie, impressed. "You're better with kids than Chie-chan!"

"Hey!" Chie exclaimed with indignation.

Yukiko burst out laughing.

The group's older children, who had been entertaining themselves a little ways away, all looked over at their parents. They were most definitely confused.

"...I give up," Chie sighed as her best friend's laughing fit continued.

They were surprised the babies didn't start crying.

It took several minutes, but Yukiko finally calmed down. Rise let out another sigh, and sat back down next to her husband. It was silent for a few moments.

Yosuke suddenly snickered a little. "Jeez, did you guys see Kanji earlier? He was freaking out, man. He _literally_ flipped a table on me."

"Well, this is his first kid," said Yu. "And this is _Kanji_ we're talking about. What did you expect?"

Rise let out a light laugh. "Yeah! He was all freaked out, ranting about how he wasn't ready to be a daddy and stuff! It's so cute! I hope he doesn't pass out though..."

Yosuke smirked. "Well, if he handled the conception, he can handle the birth! C'mon, we all did! Right, partner?"

Yu rolled his eyes. "Right."

Chie scowled. "Don't you talk about that!"

Rise giggled. "You were the first!"

Chie groaned. "Don't _remind_ me."

Just then, a nurse came out of the room Naoto and Kanji were in. She had a warm smile on her face, which already reassured the group. They all looked at her hopefully as she halted before them.

"Everything went well," she declared happily. "It's a girl!"

Everyone cheered, and Rise jumped up from her seat. Relief flooded them; no one had said a word, but deep down, they all had been worried. Naoto, after all, was so tiny, and there was a slight chance that the baby could have been fairly large thanks to Kanji.

"How is Naoto?" Yu asked.

"She's tired, and just needs some rest," the nurse replied. "Kanji-san was very supportive, and if he hadn't been there, I don't think the birth would have gone so well."

"Whoa," Yosuke breathed, his eyes widening. "Really? _Kanji_? He didn't lose his cool?"

The nurse chuckled. "He was a little flighty at first, but he steeled himself and got through. It was inspiring."

"What's the matter, Yosuke?" Chie said, a sassy edge to her voice. "Bothered that Kanji-kun is more of a man than you and didn't run out during labor?"

Yosuke grimaced. "S-Shut up..."

Everyone laughed.

* * *

_2028._

_Age 6._

* * *

Kanji Tatsumi was prepared for many things, but this was not one of them.

It had been a rather quiet day—a warm Sunday in early April. His wife, Naoto, had been suddenly called in by Yu; it was something about the Midnight Channel, but he wasn't quite sure what exactly. Kanji would have gone with her if it wasn't for their six year old daughter, Rui. Someone had to watch and take care of the little girl, away from any possible danger. And of course, she had school.

There were few things Kanji truly loved—his wife, his daughters, and his friends.

Rui and Kohaku, their youngest, were absolute treasures to Kanji and Naoto, especially since they could not have any more children. Yeah, they were spoiled in a way. Kanji personally made all of their plush toys, and some of their clothes; Rui had come to accept nothing less because of it, while Kohaku was more... reasonable. He didn't mind though; he enjoyed sewing and knitting the toys and clothes, and they were both less expensive and more durable than the ones found at stores. He was more than satisfied by his daughters' glee after his hard work.

But now Rui was _gone_.

His precious baby girl had been snatched from them, taken right from under their noses. Just like Nanako all those years ago.

Kanji had never been so enraged before in his life, in all his thirty-two years. And the look on Naoto's face, the desperation in her voice when she told him, all made him even more furious. It was one thing to hurt him, but to hurt his wife or child... That was a whole other story. This bastard as good as dead once Kanji got his hands on him.

"I know how you all feel, but we have to stay calm," Dojima was saying. "We have to learn... from what happened to Nanako and not repeat our mistakes."

Everyone had gathered in one of the many rooms at the Inaba police station. Literally everyone. The other children were in another room, being watched by Yukiko, and guarded by three cops. Even Nanako and her husband, a man named Ken Amada, had come. Nanako had joined Yukiko, though, as her own child, Riku, was only a few months old.

"Dojima-san is correct," Naoto said solemnly, her lovely blue eyes dull, her face void of any emotion; she looked numb. "Kanji, please..."

Kanji realized he had his fist raised, ready to slam it onto the table—and in turn, probably smash it. He was so infuriated that he wanted to beat the shit out of something—preferably that son of a bitch that had his daughter. He slowly lowered his fist, scowling.

"...Right," he grumbled. "Sorry."

"I still can't believe this!" Chie cried, crossing her arms over her chest. "Rui-chan appeared on the Midnight Channel, which came back _again_ , and now she's been kidnapped!"

"Just like before," Yu said, lowering his gaze. "Just like the first case."

"Do you think the creep put her in the TV world?" Rise asked fearfully, her eyes wide.

"...It is a possibility," Naoto sighed, looking and sounding absolutely drained. "But we cannot entirely rule out the prospect due to the fact that this has never occurred before. Last time, with Nanako, was a completely different situation..."

"Well, why don't we go into the TV world and look for Rui-chan?!" Yosuke demanded. "Dojima-san can handle everything here!"

Kanji was too fired up to trust himself to say anything comprehensible, so he just kept his mouth shut, and nodded in agreement.

"I'll do what I can," Dojima stated grimly. "Naoto and Kanji have already informed me what they know about the kidnapping, but there's not much to work on. So far, there has been no ransom note, which I would assume would be a reasonable motive considering who Rui's parents are. She was just taken out of the blue."

"It makes no sense whatsoever," Naoto muttered.

"Sounds like a plan," Yu agreed with a nod, a determination burning in his eyes. "Let's go to our place and use that TV. It's the safest entrance, since that's the one we always used before."

"A'ight!" Kanji exclaimed; he just wanted to get moving already so he could find his daughter; if she was in the TV world, she stood even less of a chance. She was one year younger than Nanako had been, and Nanako had Namatame dragging her around. "Let's get going already!"

"I'll go get Yukiko," said Chie, turning. "Is it okay if the kids stay here, Dojima-san?"

The police detective nodded. "Of course. I'm sure Nanako wouldn't mind watching them anyways."

She looked relieved. "Thanks!" She left the room.

Ken sighed. "I would offer to go with you, but it'd probably be best if I stayed here," he said, serious as ever. "Just in case something happens here and the police can't handle it."

They all knew what he meant. Ken had been involved with Persona and Shadow business many years ago, even before Yu, Yosuke, and Chie had formed the Investigation Team. He had been part of something called SEES. Kanji didn't know much about it, but supposedly, Ken Amada was a very strong Persona-user. Well, as long as he could protect everyone in this world, there would be no problem.

"All right!" Teddie exclaimed. "Let's go get Rui-chan! I can bearly wait any longer!"

Chie came back with Yukiko.

"Let's gear up first and then head to our place," said Yu. "Be prepared for anything, guys."

Kanji was so, so relieved.

* * *

The TV world was back once more. It reminded Kanji of the time, fourteen years ago, when the Midnight Channel returned for the first time. The Investigation Team had met Akihiko Sanada, Mitsuru Kirijo, Aigis, and eventually Labrys. The following day, they met Yukari Takeba, Junpei Iori, and a much younger Ken. It had been a very confusing time. Kanji had only been dating Naoto for a couple of months.

To think that they had been together for fourteen years, and knew each other for fifteen... It had been such a long time. Kanji never imagined he would have such a stable relationship, or such great friends. They truly were a team.

But Kanji hated having to return to the TV world, and he hated the reason why.

The first thing Rise did was summon Kouzeon, her Persona, to search for Rui. Everyone gathered around her, waiting for the verdict.

"Well?" Kanji asked, almost demanding, as his already thin patience was waning.

Rise grimaced. "Something's... not right. I'm being _blocked_."

"...I beg your pardon?" Naoto asked, her eyes widening.

"Hang on!" Rise exclaimed. "I can do this! Um... Something is blocking me, but I can still kinda tell where it's coming from! I think I know where she is!"

"I do smell someone," Teddie added, piping up. "And I think it's Rui-chan, all right!"

"What a relief," sighed Yukiko, brushing her long, black hair behind her back. "Let's go, then!"

Yu nodded. "We'll rescue her in no time! Don't worry Kanji, Naoto."

Naoto nodded, some of the life returning to her eyes. "Yes."

Kanji grunted, pounding his fist into his other hand. "Let's go kick some Shadow ass."

* * *

Rise proceeded to lead the Investigation Team to where she assumed Rui was. Teddie backed her up, saying the child's scent was getting stronger. With each step he took, Kanji got more on edge, to the point where he really needed to let off some steam, and soon. Naoto was quiet, which wasn't that surprising, but it still made him worry about her. She was probably taking this worse than him.

"What... _is_ this place?" Yukiko breathed, her dark eyes wide.

Kanji hadn't been paying much attention on the way there, so he snapped to attention, looking around to see what his daughter's mind had created. And it had to be the most bizarre thing he had ever seen before in his life; it pained him, in a way.

"...Well," Naoto sighed wearily. "Rui _does_ like the mahou shoujo genre..."

The group had stopped outside a rather strange place that probably wouldn't exist in the real world. It seemed to be some sort of castle, but nothing like Yukiko's. It appeared to be made out of puzzle pieces, like those jigsaw puzzles that Naoto's grandpa seemed to be fond of. The pieces were constantly shifting, which was a rather strange thing to see. The steps that led up to the Jigsaw Castle were also shaped like puzzle pieces, and the pathway was lined with hedges shaped like magical girls. Kanji only recognized them because he always watched the shows with his daughter, as she insisted.

"But why puzzles?" Chie asked, frowning and putting her hands on her hips.

"We'll have to wait and see," said Yu. "All right, Kanji and Naoto, you're definitely on the team. Yukiko, you too. Yosuke, Chie, and Teddie, you stay here and watch Rise."

"You got it, partner," said Yosuke, nodding. "We'll hold the fort. You go save Rui-chan!"

"Don't worry about us!" Chie exclaimed firmly.

Naoto nodded. "Thank you..."

"C'mon!" Kanji exclaimed, his patience all but gone. "We don't got any time to spare!"

Yu nodded in agreement. "Let's get going."

And so the four of them—Yu, Kanji, Naoto, and Yukiko—headed into the Jigsaw Castle. It was darker inside than Kanji had expected, and barely had they made it down the first hall when they were attacked by Shadows. Even though they were a little rusty, they managed to handle the Shadows with ease. Kanji was relieved that he could finally take his anger out on _something_. That was probably the only reason he had survived his first year of high school—fighting Shadows was a good way to release stress.

Kanji wasn't about to hold anything back either. Ziodyne after Ziodyne, followed by Primal Force or Vile Assault. Takeji Zaiten kept taking them down. Naoto fought valiantly with Yamato Sumeragi, and Yukiko was no slouch either with Sumeo-Okami. And Yu was wiping the floor with Izanagi-no-Okami. They were unstoppable.

Nevertheless, once they faced their first guardian Shadow, they were too exhausted afterward to continue. Kanji loathed it with every fiber of his being, but they had to return and go home for the day. No matter what, Naoto had to be on the rescue team, because she was the only one who could solve the complex puzzles inside the castle. Even Yu, who was just as smart as Naoto, couldn't figure them out.

It was like... they were _specialized_ for her.

Kanji hoped and prayed that his daughter would be all right in such a horrible place. But he knew she had to be terrified, and who knew what her Shadow was telling her. Rui would be scarred after this. He just wanted to ease her pain as much as possible.

The exploration of the Jigsaw Castle continued for days, the team alternating but always keeping Naoto on, and while Dojima did his part, so far there were no leads. Each day, Kanji grew more and more frustrated. With each floor they scaled, they learned more about what was troubling Rui, and that made him more desperate to find her.

_"I want to be a detective when I grow up! Just like my mommy!"_

_"But... But what if I'm not good enough...?"_

_"What if I can't solve mysteries like my mommy? Will she stop loving me?"_

_"If... If Mommy and Daddy stop loving me... I dunno what I'll do..."_

It hurt him so much to hear her saying that, Shadow self or not.

" _Okay, you've finally reached the top!"_ Rise cried with glee, her voice sounding in all of their heads. _"There's definitely a Shadow in there with Rui-chan. Are you ready?"_

"I've been ready!" Kanji growled with irritation. "Send the others up so we can get this over with!"

"Kanji..." Naoto said softly. "Calm down..."

He looked down at his wife, who was clutching her pistol so tightly her knuckles were white. They were back to the same team as the first expedition—Yu, Naoto, Yukiko, and him. He sighed heavily, shoulders slumping a little. She was right, of course. He would be no help of all to his baby girl if he was too riled up.

"We're ready, Rise," said Yu, nodding to the three of them. "We're going in."

" _Okay! Be careful!"_ Rise replied. _"_ _I love you, Yu."_

He chuckled. "You sound like we're going to our executions. We'll be fine, Rise. Love you too."

Yu reached for the door, and without another word, pulled it open. They stepped into a massive room that stretched out before them, like a throne room. Far in the back, on a pedestal, a table sat, and on top of the table was nothing but a television set. To the left of the TV was Rui—still in her school uniform, her pigtails somehow still neat, though she looked absolutely exhausted. And to the right... was her Shadow.

As always, the Shadow looked exactly like the person it belonged to, with only one difference—gold eyes. Shadow Rui's midnight blue hair fell down to her shoulders, tied neatly into pigtails with sky blue ribbons. Kanji wasn't sure what he expected her to be wearing, but it wasn't this—a sailor magical girl outfit, like one of the characters on one of her favorite shows—Mercury, was it? The collar was blue, as was the skirt, and the knee high boots, with a sky blue bow on the chest and a matching ribbon on the back of the skirt. Her gold eyes were eerie, startling unnatural compared to the stormy gray he was so used to seeing.

"Rui-chan!" Naoto exclaimed, calling to their daughter, about to bolt forward, and as much as Kanji hated it, he put up his arm to stop her; they had to do this like they always did, preferably with as least damage done to Rui as possible. "Kanji-"

"We can't run into this blindly," he said, surprisingly calm.

She grimaced, looking down. "You're right... I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," said Yu, lowering his sword. "Any of us would have done the same thing."

"We can _do_ this," said Yukiko, a determined look in her dark eyes. "Just like we've done before!"

Kanji nodded. "Thass right! C'mon, we're wasting enough time!"

Yu dipped his head in agreement, taking a step forward. Just as they had reached the pedestal, the others burst into the room.

"Rui-chan!" Teddie cried.

The little girl was on her knees, pressing her hands up against her ears as if she was trying to block something out. "Mommy... Daddy! Make her stop!"

Kanji hated hearing the pain in his daughter's voice, and wished he _could_ make it go away. But right now, he was powerless until the Shadow turned into a monster he could fight. He didn't want to put her through this, but there was no other choice.

The Shadow sneered, a horrible facial expression that Kanji had hoped he'd never see on Rui's face—or any face that looked like hers. "Mommy! Daddy! I'm too helpless to do anything on my own!" Her tone was mocking, and just made Kanji more angry.

"S-Shuddup!" Rui squeaked, as the others finally reached them, squeezing her eyes shut. "L-Leave me alone!"

"Guys, this is bad!" Rise exclaimed; she had summoned Kouzeon, the visor resting over her eyes. "Kouzeon can't tell much yet, but this Shadow is definitely strong!"

Kanji cursed under his breath. Of freaking _course_. It never would be easy.

"I can't do that," said the Shadow, turning to face the girl. "You gotta listen to me. Oh wait. Nobody wants to listen to me. Why would they?"

Kanji forced himself to look away, to look down at his wife. Her face was twisted in a pained grimace, her lips pursed in a tight, thin, pale lines. She noticed him watching her, and looked up at him. She looked away moments later.

"I'm afraid... to hear what she has to say," Naoto said, her voice so quiet he was sure he was the only one who could hear her. "I don't... want to hear how I have failed..."

He completely understood what she meant. "Well, we'll just find out so we can fix things, yeah?"

She looked down again. "I-I suppose so..."

Kanji returned his attention to the scene before him, just in time to see Rui stagger back up on her feet, now clutching the hem of her skirt so tightly her knuckles were white.

"T-Thass not true," she stammered.

Shadow Rui rolled her eyes. "I want to be a detective when I grow up! I want to save people! But what good is being a hero if I can't even help myself?"

"I-I'm not helpless!" Rui retorted, getting some of the sass that Kanji occasionally had to deal with back; she definitely got it from her mother.

The Shadow walked closer to the TV, which suddenly flickered to life. Images flashed across the screen—mainly of Naoto. Kanji recognized it all from old broadcasts—Naoto discussing cases along with the other detectives who worked with her. Some of them were from the recent years, others were from when they were teenagers. Kanji wondered what this had to do with anything. Or maybe he really didn't want to know.

"Naoto _Shirogane_ ," Shadow Rui drew out, staring at the TV. "Ace detective, called the Detective Prince. I got the same last name, and it's _so_ much more cooler than _Tatsumi_. Haku got the lame name!"

Kanji grimaced. They had decided to give her Shirogane since she was the oldest, leaving Kohaku with _Tatsumi_. It had never been a big deal to him, and Naoto didn't seem to care that much either.

"That's all everyone seems to care about," the Shadow huffed, glaring at the TV. "Who my parents are. People get really freaked when they find out I'm _Naoto Shirogane_ 's daughter. And some people give me weird looks for being a Tatsumi, too. I don't understand why. So what? I hate it _so much_."

"What're you-" Rui started again, her eyes wide. "Stop it!"

Shadow Rui turned around, and the TV flickered off. "Sometimes... I feel so... so _pressured_... Everyone expects so much from me! And I... And I don't want to be a disappointment..."

Rui whimpered, shaking her head. "Thass not true..."

"I want to be an ace detective like my mommy," said the Shadow, completely ignoring the girl. "But I'm too scared of failure to do anything about it! So I just sit around messing with cutsie things and Sora-kun!"

Wait, WHAT? What was that about Yu and Rise's kid? Kanji did not like the sound of that. Sure, the kids were still young but just a mere suggestion like that sent his protective instincts into overdrive.

"S-Stop lying, idiot!" Rui snapped, her temper flaring of all things. "T-There's nothing wrong with liking cute stuff!"

Even after all these years, Kanji still had to remind himself of that.

The Shadow's lips pulled back up into a sneer. "Are you sure about that, Rui-chan?"

She scowled, clenching her hands into fists. "Go away! Leave me alone!"

The Shadow laughed, a creepy giggle. "I can't do that! Because I'm you!"

...Here it came.

"Get ready everybody," Rise warned.

Rui completely _snapped_. "SHUDDUP! YOU'RE NOT ME! YOU... YOU-"

Monstrous laughter sounded from the magical sailor girl version of Rui, dark fog forming around it. The whole team tensed; Kanji could feel Takeji Zaiten stirring in the back of his mind. He was ready to take down this monster and save his daughter.

"Catch her!" he shouted as the Shadow pulsed powerfully, flinging back the girl as it transformed before their very eyes.

Naoto, who was by far the smallest and in turn fastest, darted forward just in time to catch Rui as she was thrown back from the force. The temperature had dropped suddenly, and that could mean that this Shadow had an affinity for ice magic. Yu and Yukiko brandished their weapons, while Kanji rushed up to Naoto as she stood up with an unconscious Rui in her arms.

"Is she okay?" he asked, trying not to sound anxious.

Naoto shook her head. "I-I don't know..."

"Hey!" Chie dashed up to them as Yu and Yukiko walked past to face the monster their daughter's Shadow had formed into. "I'll take her! You go kick that Shadow's ass!"

Naoto looked up at her, and nodding grimly, handing the limp body of their daughter to the older woman. Chie tried to crack a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Naoto-kun," she said. "Everything's gonna be okay!"

"Thass right," Kanji agreed, his voice firm. "C'mon, we can't keep 'em waiting!"

Naoto nodded. "Right." She pulled her gun back out, unlocking the safety. "Let's go."

Kanji heaved his shield up off the ground, and led the way up to where Yu and Yukiko stood. There, the monster loomed before them. Kanji wasn't sure of what he wanted to make of it. But nothing was worse than Rise's Shadow; he'd _never_ forget that battle. That had scarred him for life.

This Shadow looked kinda like a witch out of a story book—pointy black hat, billowing black dress and everything—but pressed up against its back was a massive black circle that seemed to be pulsing light. She was sitting down on three massive, gothic looking TVs, if that was even possible. On each side of the witch was a giant, ferocious looking werecat thing, one black, the other white; they vaguely reminded him of the two _helpers_ his Shadow had. The Shadow also had those weird theater smiling-frowning masks hiding its face.

It was hard to believe his little girl had made this thing.

"All of you... Stop getting in my way!" Shadow Rui roared, a dark, insidious edge now to its voice.

" _I sense strong ice magic from this thing, guys!"_ Rise was in full analysis mode, as her voice was sounding in their heads. _"_ _Be careful, okay, Yukiko?"_

"All right," said Yu, looking at each of them. "Everyone ready?"

Kanji nodded. "You betcha!"

"Then let's do this," their leader said, summoning a card and crushing it in his hand. "Izanagi-no-Okami!"

The white version of Yu's initial Persona materialized before them in blue light, and Kanji could feel the electricity crackle through the air before the wicked bolt of Ziodyne crashed into the Shadow. The monster cried out in pain, jerking back, but still remained on the stacked TVs. The werecats hissed.

" _I'm trying to fi_ _nd_ _out if it has a weakness!"_ Rise exclaimed. _"Hang in there, guys!"_

Yukiko brought out her own card, slashing it with her razor-sharp fan. "Sumeo-Okami!"

Fire blasted at the Shadow—Agidyne. The shriek from it was awful, and the thing fell off the TVs.

" _That's it!"_ Rise cried. _"It's weak to fire attacks, guys!"_

"Go, Yukiko!" Yu shouted, encouraging her.

She nodded, called out her card again, and slashed it with her fan. "Persona!"

Sumeo-Okami appeared, blasting the knocked down Shadow with fire once more. It had to be dizzy now, right? With Yukiko, the battle would be over with in a flash! The sooner it ended the better; the atmosphere in the TV world was not good for Rui.

It was his turn now. He summoned his card, and smashed it with his solid shield. "Takeji Zaiten!"

The massive Persona appeared before him, and launched his own Ziodyne at the fallen Shadow. The attack hit, and Kanji hoped it added to the monster's dizziness. But before Naoto could go, because it should have been her turn, one of the werecats attacked. The white one lunged forward so fast, no one had time to react. It slashed at Naoto, hitting her hard across the chest and sending her flying backward. Kanji tried not to panic, because that would only make the situation worse—not to mention Naoto would be pissed at him afterward.

The other werecat, the black one, lifted its head up into the air and let out a loud, earsplitting screech. The whole team was engulfed by yellow light, and Kanji could feel his defenses weaken. He cursed under his breath.

"I'll have my revenge for that!" Naoto growled, heaving herself back up on her feet. "Persona!"

Yamato Sumeragi appeared after she shot her card with her pistol. Bright, blue light began to form above them, signaling a Megidoloan. Kanji quickly shut his eyes so he wouldn't be blinded by the powerful explosion. He crouched down behind his shield just in time as the spell exploded, sending a pulse out that he was sure was as strong as an atomic bomb—just minus the radioactivity. Even behind the shield, he was whipped by the aftershock.

The witch remained on the ground, but the two werecats were still standing. Kanji pushed himself back up, shifting his weapon in his hands. This battle was going to be just as long as the others.

Izanagi-no-Okami launched another Ziodyne at the witch. Sumeo-Okami blasted intense fire at the Shadow, burning it with Agidyne. Then it was his turn again. Summoning his card, he smashed it with his shield. Takeji Zaiten lumbered forward, slashing down with his giant sword, using Vile Assault on the downed Shadow. But still, it did not die. Instead, it began to get back up.

" _It's going to attack!"_ Rise cried in warning. _"Brace yourselves!"_

The temperature around them dropped even more, getting so cold that Kanji could see his breath puffing in front of him. Humongous chunks of ice formed, hitting each of them—Mabufudyne. Cold pierced through Kanji's thin clothing, practically freezing his chest as he was thrown back from the attack. And all he could hear was Yukiko's piercing cry of pain—she was weak to ice.

Kanji heaved himself to his feet, but was immediately knocked back down as the Shadow launched another Mabufudyne at them.

" _No!"_ Rise gasped. _"Yukiko! Please wake up! Oh my gosh!"_

Oh no—that could only mean-

Kanji barely had time to put up his shield in defense as the white werecat ferociously attacked him. Its attacked was weakened greatly, but after the two hits from Mabufudyne, his body ached, and he couldn't stand up. He almost felt faint.

"Kanji!"

He looked over to see Naoto—who looked battered, but fine—making her way towards him. The black werecat launched another stat lowering move, but to much of his relief, it seemed to miss him and his wife. At his current position, he could not see Yu or the condition of Yukiko.

"Here," she said, kneeling down next to him. "Take this antibiotic gel. It will have to do for now, as Yu has to revive Yukiko. I have already used one for myself."

"You're still hurt," he grunted before wincing as she applied the medicine to him herself since he had made no move to take it.

"It's nothing I can't manage. Your injuries are more serious."

Coolness flowed over his body, soothing the hot pain and eliminating some of it all together. Naoto moved back and he hefted himself onto his feet. He still had some soreness, and his legs were a bit stiff, but it was much better than before. Kanji immediately saw that Yu had revived Yukiko, and now she was launching a Maragidyne. To much of everyone's surprise, all of the enemies went down.

"We have our chance!" Yukiko exclaimed, turning around to face all of them. "Are you ready?"

Yu nodded.

"All right!" Yukiko shouted.

Wielding their weapons, all four Persona-users stormed the fallen Shadows, and proceeded to viciously attack the monsters. To much of Kanji's pleasure, afterward, the black werecat died, exploded into black fog. There were only two more enemies left. They could do this! And they needed to do it fast—who knows what the damned atmosphere was doing to his daughter.

He knew what it had done to Nanako, and she had been older...

"Let's finish this up!" Yu exclaimed.

* * *

Finally, after what seemed like hours, all the enemies had been defeated. Shadow Rui fell, collapsing and fading back into the magical sailor girl from before. Like all the other Shadows, she just stood there, waiting. Kanji knew what came next. There would be no peace or end unless his daughter accepted her Shadow...

"C'mon, Rui..."

Kanji looked behind him to see Chie carrying the girl, who was now awake. Rise had called back Kouzeon and was walking up with Yosuke and Teddie. Everyone looked grim.

"D-Daddy!" Rui choked, reaching out towards him with her arms.

Chie handed the child to him, and she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Kanji held her, while Naoto stood to the side in silence, wiping her eyes.

"Mommy..." Rui looked over at her mother.

Naoto looked up, and put a tired, and somewhat strained smile on her face. "I'm here."

"Rui-chan," Kanji said gently. "You need to... accept the other you."

"The other me?" she whispered, looking at the Shadow version of herself just standing there. "B-But..."

"I know," he said. "It's hard. I had to accept mine too. So did your mom. We all did."

That was a lie; Yu didn't have to accept any Shadow. But she didn't need to know that.

Rui tapped on his shoulder, which meant she wanted down. He carefully set her down on the ground, and she stumbled towards her other self. The child was obviously tired, but she was forcing herself to stay awake, to do whatever her parents wanted her to do that seemed so important.

"Yeah..." she said, her voice faint. "All of that you said... s'true. I-I guess... you're me..."

Shadow Rui nodded, and like many times before, the blue light transforming her into a Persona—a Persona that quickly faded away into a card, so quickly that no one got a good look at it. It was probably because Rui was so young. The card floated down to Rui, who stretched out her hand and clasped the card, her gray eyes wide. Blue surrounded her, and the card disappeared.

Rui turned around, her eyes drooping. And then she collapsed; Naoto barely was able to catch her again.

"Let's hurry out of here," Yu said seriously. "We need to get her to a hospital."

Kanji nodded, not trusting himself to say anything rational.

"I'll lead the way!" Teddie exclaimed.

And with that, the team quickly left and rushed the girl to the hospital.

* * *

_2029._

_Age 7._

* * *

Rui Shirogane loved flowers. She loved looking at them, loved smelling them. She loved it when her aunt Yukiko brought flowers to the house and shop because they would fill the rooms with their sweet aroma. And whenever she visited the Amagi Inn to see her friend Akemi, she always asked to see their flower garden. They always had the loveliest flowers.

Today in school, Rui decided during recess that she wanted to look for flowers. It was spring—the perfect time to find them. Akemi, Sora, and Iruka agreed to help her. Well, more or less they did.

"Do we _have_ to do this?" Iruka whined, tugging at his uniform.

"Why not?" Akemi asked, confusion in her bright blue eyes. "Flowers are so pretty!"

"They're so _girly_ ," Iruka huffed.

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" she exclaimed.

Sora, who had been ignoring them, suddenly gasped. "Hey guys, look! The trees have flowers on 'em!"

All four of the children looked towards where he was pointing. There, in the distance, were several cherry trees lining the fence that surrounded the school. The blossoms gleamed pale pink in the sunlight, a beautiful sight to see.

Rui gasped. "They're so pretty!"

Sora smiled, nodding. "Yeah! Too bad they're not your favorite color."

* * *

_2030._

_Age 8._

* * *

It was a special day at school today—Parent Career Day. Students were supposed to bring one of their parents to class, and that parent would tell everyone about their job. Rui had pleaded with and begged her mom to go. She wanted to be the one with the parent that had a super awesome job. Naoto relented, agreeing to go with her instead of Kanji.

Sora had complained about how his mom couldn't go. His dad owned and ran a restaurant, but that was nowhere near as awesome as a former teen idol. Nevertheless, he was still was excited and happy, from what Rui knew.

"Moooooooom! Aren't you gonna wear your detective outfit?" Rui asked as her mother appeared from her bedroom, all ready to go.

Naoto blinked in confusion. "My detective outfit...?"

"Yeah!" the young girl exclaimed. "Y'know, your blue coat and plaid pants and cap!"

Naoto sighed. "Rui, I haven't been able to wear that for years now."

"Why not?" she asked, puzzled.

Naoto grimaced, but was saved by Kanji, who came out into the living room. He had on his lavender apron with white bunnies all over it, holding two boxed lunches. Haku was with him, holding her own packaged lunch. The six year old's deep blue hair went down to her chin, and was scruffy and kind of wild, and her eyes were the same color.

"I've packed you both boxed lunches," he told them, completely oblivious to the previous conversation.

"...That wasn't necessary," Naoto replied, but a smile twitched at her lips. "But thank you, Kanji."

"Thanks, Daddy!" Rui exclaimed with delight.

Kanji laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "S'nothing!"

"Mama, can we go awready?" Haku whined.

Naoto chuckled, and nodded. "Of course. Let us head out."

And so mother and daughters left a few minutes later, driving to the elementary school. It was a sunny, peaceful day in Inaba. When they arrived, Rui felt like she would burst with excitement. She would get to spend the whole day with her mom, something she rarely, if ever, got to do.

Rui was very aware of the stares they received once the car had been parked, and they had gotten out. Naoto, after all, was a famous detective. No one would expect to see her coming with her daughter to a mere school event. This just made Rui happier.

"Naoto!"

She stopped, a bit startled, and turned around at the sound of her name, relaxing once she saw who it was. "Yu! And Ryuu, Yuina, Sora, and Haruto."

Indeed, it was Yu Narukami and his four children. Ryuu was twelve years old, Yuina was ten, and Haruto was six, making Sora the second youngest at eight years old.

"It's good to see you all," Naoto said once the quintet had reached them. "How have you been?"

"Ahaha, it's good to see you too," Yu said with a friendly smile. "Oh, I've been all right. Nothing new. Just running the restaurant with Yosuke. How about you?"

"I've been very busy," she sighed, resting a hand on her hip. "The cases just keep on coming. I've been debating on taking another hiatus because of it."

"Really?!" both girls gasped, their eyes widening.

Naoto looked down at her daughter in surprise. "Yes. Perhaps when summer vacation arrives, we can go on a trip."

"Yaaaaaaaay!" Rui cheered, jumping up into the air. "We _hafta_ , Mommy!"

"Pwetty please with sugar on top!" Haku begged.

Naoto laughed, a smile forming on her lips. "We will see."

And so, after that, the eight of them entered the school building together. The parents had to sign in, and get a name tag. Security was very high for safety reasons. Nevertheless, they arrived, with time to spare, at the classroom, after seeing off the other four. The other parents who were already there with their children were shocked to see Naoto Shirogane of all people, and some of them couldn't help but stare.

The teacher became almost flustered at the sight of Rui's mother, even though she knew due to the student files. She greeted both Naoto and Yu with extreme formality, giving them more respect than she had to the other parents. This amused Rui.

"So," Naoto said once they were free. "Where do you sit?"

"Me and Sora-kun sit over here!" Rui exclaimed, scampering over to a small table.

" _'Sora-kun and I'_ ," her mother corrected out of habit, following the girl. "This is quite far in the back."

"Sorry," Rui muttered before continuing. "S'cause Sora-kun's always distracting the girls because they all have crushes on 'im!"

"S-Shuddup!" Sora snapped, his cheeks flushing bright pink. "They do not!"

Yu laughed. "Sounds like me when I was your age."

"More like you in high school," Naoto deadpanned.

This time Yu's laugh was strained, and he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah..."

Rui glanced over at Sora, whose blush was fading, and he just shrugged. "Well, we better sit down!"

And so they did. It wasn't very comfortable for Yu, because he was a rather tall man, and the chairs were made for children. Naoto, on the other hand, was petite, and didn't have that problem. The silence that had fallen once they had stepped inside the room faded, as the other guests in the classroom began to speak again.

"Rui-chan," Sora said from where he sat across from her. "Do you remember if we're gonna sing that song Miss Aino taught us?"

Rui blinked, a thoughtful expression forming on her face. "Um... I don't think so... Why?"

Sora's face fell. "I... I wanted Dad to hear... Miss Aino said I'm really good."

"Well, you can still sing for all of us tonight," Yu told him. "How does that sound?"

Sora's brown eyes lit up. "Yeah! Thanks, Dad!"

Yu smiled, pleased that his son was happy.

Rui leaned forward in her seat, her gray eyes bright with excitement. "Sora-kun, maybe someday you can be a famous singer like your mom! That would be so cool!"

Sora's mouth opened to form a little 'o'. "You think I can do that?!"

"'Course!" Rui exclaimed, a big smile on her face. "I think you can do anything, Sora-kun!"

The boy's face flushed, and he looked down at the table. "T-Thanks, Rui-chan..."

Rui blinked, confused by his sudden change in demeanor. Of course, Naoto and Yu knew exactly what was going on. They didn't think much of it though, as their children were so young.

Eventually, class began. The parents would go in alphabetical order according to their children, which meant Naoto would be one of the last to go, while Yu's turn was in the middle.

Most residents of Inaba knew Yu and had been to his restaurant. His presentation wasn't as exciting as Rise's would have been, but Sora was still very satisfied. Yu's job was much more impressive than most of the other parents'.

However, a hush fell when the teacher called, "Rui and Naoto Shirogane!"

Rui jumped out of her seat, overflowing with fervor. Naoto stood, and followed her daughter to the front of the room. No one could take their eyes off of them.

"Hi!" Rui exclaimed, with a short wave. "I'm Rui, and this's my mom, Naoto Shirogane! She's a freelance detective! She's solved so many cases, even ones that've happened here! So, um, please listen to her!"

There were some chuckles in the crowd, but that didn't bother Rui. Her mother stepped up, ready to take over and deliver her message.

"Hello everyone," Naoto said, business mode on. "As you already know, my name is Naoto Shirogane, and I am a private detective. I have been solving cases officially since I was thirteen."

There were some gasps in the crowd. Rui didn't understand what was so shocking. She thought all detectives started that young.

"I have taken on many high profile cases, such as the kidnapping-murder case here in Inaba nineteen years ago. I'm sure most of you were here during the crisis and remember it."

Many of the parents nodded.

"That case may possibly be the most difficult one I have ever taken on," said Naoto. "It is also the one I shall never forget."

Yu would never forget it either.

"Crime will never end, and that is why it is imperative that we continue to remember the past," she said. "And if you have any information about any case, no matter how minor it may be, please tell the police."

* * *

_2031-2032._

_Ages 9-10._

* * *

Rui knew, by age ten, what she wanted to do in life. There was no doubt about it.

She wanted to carry on the Shirogane family tradition and become a detective, just like her mother.

At school, she had become known as the Princess Sleuth; students from all over came to ask for her help in solving mysteries, paying her in candy. Thanks to the detective novels Naoto gave her to read, plus her natural ability, she was already developing into a fine, young detective.

Rui even had her own little investigation team—Sora Narukami, Akemi Amagi, and Iruka Hanamura all assisted her with her crime solving. They took on a variety of cases: the Haunted Classroom, the Missing Pet of Class 5-A, the Stolen Autographed Basketball, and so on. Everyone loved Rui and her amazing skills. But it all came to a screeching halt one day...

"You can't be a detective!" the most obnoxious boy in her class declared. "You're a girl!"

Rui was most definitely a girly girl. She wore her long, midnight blue hair in low pigtails, tied with purple ribbons. She wore dresses and skirts, and held a strong adoration for cute things. She _loathed_ getting dirty, and sports just weren't her thing. Rui's entire world was shattered by that one statement.

"W-Why not?!" she demanded, clenching her hands into fists.

The boy sneered, glancing back at his friends for a moment. "'Cause! Nobody wants to listen to a _girl_! Get back in the kitchen!"

The boys apparently found it hilarious, because they guffawed loudly. Rui just stood there, her gray eyes wide and brimming with tears. No one was there to defend her. Sora was out sick, Akemi had to stay home to help with the inn, and Iruka had detention as school was over.

"T-Thass not true!" she stammered, clutching her hands to her chest. "My mom-"

"Pretended to be a boy!" he crowed, and they all laughed harder. "You're all so useless!"

They left her then, walking away, leaving the school grounds, still guffawing loudly. Rui just stood there stunned as more students filed out of the building and began to leave.

"I... can't be... a detective... 'cause I'mma girl...?" she breathed to herself. "But... But...!"

Rui's breakdown was so horrendous another student went to get a teacher, and Kanji was called to come pick her up and take her home right away.

* * *

"Rui-chan, why aren't you excited?!" Akemi demanded. "Your mom's gonna have a baby! You're gonna be a big sister again!"

"...Don't call me that," Rui grumbled in irritation. "And I _am_ excited."

Akemi gave her a dry look. "Yeah, right! You don't fool me, Rui-chan!"

It was true—Naoto was pregnant with her third child. It had been rather sudden, and totally unexpected on Rui's part. She had never thought she would ever gain another sibling. She was unaware of how much that her parents had struggled to try to have a third child.

When Rui had been two, her parents had decided they wanted another child. However, Naoto had been working on a certain case at the time, and somehow was poisoned. She barely survived, but there was a cost—premature birth. Haku had survived, but the incident had damaged her womb, and they had been told that Naoto most likely was rendered infertile as a result. Nevertheless, they had tried countless of times, only to be unsuccessful. Naoto pretended it didn't bother her, but she secretly blamed herself for working on that case.

Rui's parents treasured her and her sister, but now that, miraculously, they had another child on the way, they were overjoyed. But Rui felt like she was being pushed back, like she wasn't important anymore. It didn't help that just months earlier, all her hopes and dreams had been shattered.

Rui scowled. "Be quiet."

It was January, nearing the end of the school year. The two girls were outside in the cold, walking to school together.

Of course Akemi didn't listen. "Don'tcha want a little brother or sister?"

Rui's gray gaze flickered down to the ground. "Not really."

Akemi frowned, confusion in her bright blue eyes. "Why not?"

Rui's clenched her fists. "Because... what if... they like him or her... more than me? There's already Haku... What if Mom doesn't let me become the next Shirogane detective anymore? What if-"

"Stop!" her friend cried, halting dead in her tracks. "Your mom and dad will always love you! 'Cause that's what parents do! Don't worry about it!"

Rui really wished listening to Akemi was as easy as she made it sound.

Later that year, in August, a baby boy was born to Kanji Tatsumi and Naoto Shirogane. He was named Yori Shirogane, given his mother's maiden name so the family wouldn't die out. Rui had to admit, her little brother was cute, with his fuzzy black hair and wide blue eyes. How could she not love him? And seeing her parents so happy...

Yori was a wonderful addition to the family.

* * *

_2034-2035._

_Ages 12-13._

* * *

Rui was sitting at her desk, working on homework, when her mother came into her room and slapped a manila paper file down on the desk in front of her.

She started a little, and looked up at Naoto. "What is this?"

"You wanted to carry on the family tradition, yes?" Naoto asked, raising an eyebrow. "Here's your first case. _Solo_."

Rui stared at the woman who gave her life. "R-Really? Are you positive you want me to do this?"

Naoto chuckled. "Of course. You were the one insisting on becoming a detective. Solve this, and I will assist you in furthering your career."

Hearing her mother say that made Rui so happy, words couldn't describe the feeling. She almost jumped up to squeeze her mother in a hug, but she refrained from doing so. She had to act professional.

"Thank you... so much," she got out.

Naoto smiled, seeming not bothered by her daughter's rigidness. "Dojima-san knows that I'm giving you this case, so if you need anything, he's the man to go to. You'll have to get used to working with the police anyways. However, it will be _difficult_ , even though I shall be pushing that they listen to you. I know how it is to be a young detective, but I am confident that you can handle it better than I did."

Rui was slightly confused by what her mother meant by that, but she nodded. "I will. Thank you."

The next day, Rui had been so excited to tell her friends about the new development, she almost lost the cool composure she had developed over the past few years. But she forced herself to remain calm and dignified. However, someone else had big news.

"Guys, you'll never guess what!" Sora exclaimed at their brief meeting up during lunch. "My mom was able to pull some strings and got me an audition at an agency!"

Akemi gasped, her eyes widening. "Really?! That's awesome, Sora-kun!"

Iruka grinned. "You'll definitely win, partner!"

Sora was so happy, the loathsome nickname didn't even bother him. "Thanks, guys! I'm super pumped!"

"I have some news as well," Rui said, folding her arms across her chest.

"You too?!" Akemi exclaimed, looking surprised.

Rui nodded. "My mother gave me my first official case last night."

"Whoa!" Sora gasped, looking amazed. "So, you're a real-deal detective now?!"

"I suppose so," she replied, shrugging slightly. "It will be a while before I before I become reputable, however."

"Will you still go to school?" Akemi asked, now keyed down and looking a little sad.

"I... I don't know," Rui responded, looking down and frowning slightly.

"Well, even if you don't, we'll always be friends!" Iruka declared with a grin, obviously trying to cheer everyone up.

Akemi tried to smile a little, and nodded. "Yeah! Friends forever!"

Sora laughed, smiling too. "Definitely!"

Rui smiled softly. "Thank you..."

* * *

And so the school year continued on. Rui successfully solved her first case, making her debut as a detective. Sora won the audition, and was whisked away to be groomed for his own debut as an idol before their first year of middle school completed. Sora's first album came out in January of 2036, right as Rui was closing her third case.

Neither Rui nor Sora came back for their second year of middle school, eighth grade. Sora was becoming a pop sensation, while Rui was rippling waves in the criminal justice community—both of them were following their dreams and making names for themselves.

Naoto received much flack for allowing her daughter to pursue a career as a detective. It was "not a job for a woman, much less a young teenage girl." This merely angered Naoto, considering both her gender and youth as a detective. However, she could not stop this from affecting her daughter.

Rui learned right off the bat that her gender and age hindered her. Middle-aged men did not want to listen to a teenage girl. She could not blame them for when it came to her youth, but her gender was an entirely different matter. At first, this bothered her, but in the end, it only fueled her desire to prove them wrong, much like how she utilized her emotions from the boy telling her she couldn't become a detective because she was female. This determination earned her the respect she deserved, once she showed it.

Sora did quite well. Girls fawned over him and his music made records, but the _Sorata_ the world knew was not the Sora his family and friends knew. There were some aspects of his true self, but not many. He eventually joined an idol group called _Yuukan_ , and later on began their lead singer when the former lead got wrapped into some sort of scandal. Rui would never admit it, but she did like his music, and she kept track of him to "make sure he wasn't in any trouble," as she would say.

The friends did remain in touch with each other, though Rui, nor Sora, were ever able to return to Inaba to visit. However, this did not seem to make that much of an impact on their friendship, until something no one expected happened.

But a recent turn of events will bring the four together... and a new case will erupt in Inaba.


	2. Return to Inaba

**RUI**

* * *

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter."

I found myself surrounded by blue. Well, more accurately, blue velvet. It appeared that I was inside a plane. Outside the windows was nothing but fog. This plane was moving at a steady pace. The seats were arranged unusually along the sides of the plane, facing out towards the center aisle instead of forward. Ahead of me, sitting in a chair facing towards me, was the oddest old man I had ever seen, and sitting to his left—my right—was a girl.

Was this… some sort of dream?

The old man had an abnormally large nose that I highly doubted was physically possible; this had to be a dream after all. An incredibly strange dream. He was dressed in a sophisticated manner, wearing a black suit and tie, with gloves on his thin hands. His black eyebrows were thick and bushy, and the white hair behind his bald spot was brushed back. I wondered where this figment of my imagination came from.

The girl appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen. She had long, pale gold hair that waved down to the small of her back, looking white at first glance, and her eyes were a darker, more intense shade of gold. She was clothed in a blue dress that matched the blue velvet of the plane.

"My name is Igor," the old man said; he had been the one who has spoken the first time. "And this is my assistant, Safie."

"It's nice to meet you," the girl, Safie said, her voice bright and bubbly.

"...Rui Shirogane," I relented, wondering what the purpose of this bizarre dream even was.

"You are a special guest," Igor stated. "One who shares relations with two previous occupants..."

I frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

Safie giggled, covering her mouth with her head. "Elizabeth and Theo will be so jealous!"

None of this was making any sense. Could I wake up already?

"You are a guest here," he continued on. "That is why you have been called. You signed the contract."

What contract? I couldn't recall what he was talking about. But naturally—this wasn't real, after all. It just… _felt_ incredibly real. Perhaps I had eaten something earlier that was giving me such colorful dreams. That had to be it.

"Because you signed the contract, it is our duty here, in the Velvet Room, to aid you in utilizing your power to its full potential. In return, we expect you to honor the contract and take full responsibility for your actions."

"...Understood," I said, though I honestly had no idea about what insanity this strange old man was talking about. But this was just a dream. It didn't matter.

"Now, I have kept you long enough," Igor said, clasping his hands together in front of him. "Much awaits you yet before I may inform you of what exactly your power is. Til we meet again, Rui."

"Bye-bye!" Safie exclaimed cheerfully, waving.

* * *

_Friday, April 1st, 2039, Cloudy._

* * *

My eyes shot open, and I found myself still sitting in my seat on the train. I had fallen asleep, it seemed. The train's gentle movement must have lulled me to sleep. Sitting up straight, I rubbed my eyes. That had been the most outlandish dream I had ever had before in my life. I hoped I never had it again. But… it was better than a nightmare, at least.

I stretched a little, trying to wake myself up. I felt exhausted still. It was probably the trip back to Inaba that was tiring me. This was the first time I had been out of the hospital, by myself, for about a month or so. In late February or early March, I had gotten in a car accident. It… bad been bad. I had sustained a mild traumatic brain injury in the form of a concussion, and that, along with other injuries, required me to remain hospitalized for a period of time. But I had recovered enough to be released, and I was returning to my hometown to take a break from my detective work to heal more. Or at least, it was my parents' idea.

Sighing, I looked out the window. I wasn't too keen on this 'break'. It wasn't that I didn't want to see my family and friends—on the contrary, that was the one thing I was looking forward to. But for the past three years of my life, I had been solving crimes as the sixth generation Shirogane detective. It was what I loved and now I had to 'take a break' and _go to high school_. How boring was that?

But… I couldn't really function like I had before the accident. I had post-concussion syndrome, and it was greatly hindering my mental capabilities. My once idyllic memory now struggled to remember even how long ago the accident was, and I couldn't concentrate easily, if at all. It would be impossible to return to solving cases at this point.

I hated it… but I would just have to let time heal me. But the worst part about it was that, while some people only got post-concussion syndrome for a week or so, it was lasting way longer for me. The doctor said I could be like this for _months_.

Complaining about it would do nothing, though…

" _Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching Yasoinaba Station. I repeat, we are approaching Yasoinaba Station. We will arrive in ten minutes."_

Ah… Perfect timing. I decided to stand up to take my duffel bag out of the storage compartment. Once I had gotten it out, I sat back down. I pulled out my cell phone to check for any messages. Just as I expected, I had received a text from my father about where to meet them. I took note of it, and began to wait for the rest of the ten minutes to pass.

But finally, the train came to a halt at the station and I could get off. I gathered my things, stepped into the aisle, and headed off. But as soon as I stepped off the train and onto the platform, I was hit by a wave of dizziness. I stopped after stumbling forward a bit, not daring to move any further, as the world spun around me.

Ugh… This was so _aggravating_.

Once the dizziness passed, I started walking again, heading in the direction that my dad said he and my siblings would be waiting. Mom had wanted to come down, but apparently she couldn't make it because something had come up. It wasn't a surprise, but a bit disappointing.

But then I heard someone call to me, and I saw my dad waving. My younger sister and brother were with him. I picked up my pace as fast as I dared after my dizzy spell moments ago, and strode up to them.

"Onee-chan!" my baby brother, Yori, exclaimed, before running up to me and giving me a hug.

Yori Shirogane was only six years old, but the child was a genius. Despite his young age, he had been placed in fourth grade, which he would be starting this year. He had short, boyishly shaggy black hair, and blue eyes. He was wearing a blue puffer vest over a white long sleeved shirt, jeans, and a pair of blue sneakers.

I smiled before crouching down to give him a hug of my own. "Hello, Yori. How are you doing?"

"Awesome!" he cheered. "I'm happy you're staying for a while, Onee-chan!"

"Jeez, he's been all over the place, all pumped up for you coming home," my sister, Haku, snorted.

Her full name was Kohaku Tatsumi but we always just called her Haku. She was fifteen years old, technically two years younger than me, but due to the fact that her birthday was early in the year and mine was late, we ended up only being a year apart most of the time. And because of her early birthday, she would be starting her first year of high school, rather than her third year of middle school. I almost didn't recognize her. She must have bleached her hair, because instead of black, it was now pale blonde, falling down to her shoulders, with her fringe bangs swept to the side. At least she wasn't wearing colored contacts or something; her eyes were still blue. She was wearing a black beanie loosely over her head, a black leather jacket over a loose black shirt with some bizarre silver design, ripped dark blue jeans, and a pair of black combat boots.

"...Haku?" I raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

She scowled. "What the hell's _that_ supposed to mean? Ugh, screw this. I _told_ you it was a bad idea that I come, Dad. I'm going back to the car."

Before anyone could say a word, she stormed off, leaving me feeling stunned and confused. Yori bit his bottom lip as he tucked in his chin nervously, and then walked over to where Dad was still standing. Dad let out a loud, frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"Sorry 'bout that, Rui. Haku's… goin' through that angsty teenager stage. Don't take it personally."

My father, Kanji Tatsumi, was probably not who people expected to be married to Naoto Shirogane. He was extremely tall, and rather stocky, which made him appear frightening and brutish if one didn't know him. He had short, neatly parted black hair, gray eyes, a pair of glasses, and a scar on the right side of his forehead. He was wearing a white button-up shirt with a t-shirt underneath, jeans, and black boots.

"It's fine," I muttered, adjusting the strap of my duffel bag on my shoulder. "Let's go home, please. I'm exhausted."

I hated admitting it, but it was true. I tired so much more quickly since the accident. I wanted to go back to my room and lay down, maybe take a short nap before dinner. I needed to rest… The doctor said to not push myself.

"All right, we'll get going," Dad agreed. "Ma's itching to see you anyways."

"Onee-chan, will you sit in the back with me?" Yori asked, looking up with hopeful eyes.

I couldn't help but smile and laugh a little. "Of course, Yori."

Despite how exhausted I felt, I _was_ happy to be back with my family. I enjoyed the traveling and apprehending criminals, but it limited my time with family and friends. I wasn't looking forward to attending high school, but at least I would be with my friends. That was all that mattered to me.

* * *

"Ohhh, Rui-chan, look at you! You've grown up so much!"

As soon as I had stepped through the front door, my paternal grandmother came rushing over and pulled me into a bone crushing embrace. Then she took a step back to look me over, and that's when she started gushing.

"Hello to you too, Grandma," I muttered.

She just smiled at me, keeping her hands on my shoulders. "You've grown into a beautiful young lady, Rui-chan. We are so, so proud of you."

I… honestly… hadn't expected to hear something like that. I didn't know why, but I hadn't. I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment, and a faint, sheepish smile formed on my lips.

"Um, thank you," I said, not knowing how else to respond.

She just chuckled, releasing me. "Go on inside, dear. You've had a long day."

I nodded, and took as my chance to head inside, walking down the short hallway that led to the left, taking you to where we lived. There was also a door in the back, where we received deliveries and mail, but usually we came in through the shop entrance.

The building that housed Tatsumi Textiles was actually our home; the shop was out in front, and rest was our housing. It was nicer than one would expect. We had a modest sized living room, a small kitchen, and a small bathroom on the first floor, and then on the second there were five bedrooms—the largest for my parents, the second largest for my grandmother, the third largest for me, the fourth largest for Haku, and the smallest for Yori—and one bathroom. At times, it was annoying only having two bathrooms for six people, but it was better than only having one, I supposed.

The living room's furniture probably had been around for twenty years, but was still in good condition. There was a couch, love seat, and recliner. There was a rectangular chabudai in the center of the room, and a flat screen television hanging on the wall across from the couch. To the left of the living room was the kitchen, and on the far wall was the other door, while all the appliances were on the back wall. There was a small, rectangular western table standing in the free space of the kitchen, and like always, had yarn, string, needles, ribbons, and a few half finished knit dolls; Dad used that as his work space more than we ate there.

Haku had thrown herself down on the couch and turned on the television, while Yori was just sitting down at the chabudai to read a rather thick book. Dad had gone upstairs to bring my things up to my room for me, so I hesitated, wondering if I should say anything to my sister or not. I decided to at least try, and walked over to the couch.

"Haku?" I asked.

She looked up, scowling harshly. "What do _you_ want?"

I almost winced. "Is it a crime for me to want to speak with my sister?"

"Yeah, if you're gonna ask prying questions," she retorted with a glare.

...Well, I doubted I would get through to her when she was like this. I wondered what could have possibly happened to change my sister so drastically. If something serious had occurred, our parents would have informed me. No… It had to be something she was keeping to herself. Haku had always been the type to keep secrets; she didn't like sharing her problems. When we were kids, I always had to coerce it out of her to find out what was wrong.

"Suit yourself," I muttered. "I'm going to rest."

Not giving her a chance to respond, I headed over to the stairs. Dad had just come down seconds ago. He told me that everything was in my room now, so I made my way upstairs. It was a short walk down the hallway to my room, which was the second door on the right. I opened it, and stepped inside.

My room was virtually unchanged from how I had left it, which was how I asked for it to be kept. It had pale lavender walls with lacy black curtains veiled over the window. My bed was actually a futon, rolled up neatly and placed next to the far left wall. My plush toys were arranged in front of the pillows—most of which my dad had made himself. All of my shelves were lined with books—detective novels, criminology books, some non-fiction books about real life cases, a dictionary, and loads of mahou shoujo manga from my childhood. Next to my television was a rack of DVDs, and across from it was a comfortable purple loveseat. My desk was positioned in front of the window, decorated with figurines from shows I liked while growing up. The space was a bit tight, but I liked it.

Not wasting anymore time, I headed over to the futon so I could unroll it and get to that nap I so desperately needed.

* * *

"Rui?"

It was later that night, and after dinner and watching the news, I had gone back up to my room to continue to organize my belongings. But at the sound of my name, I paused in what I was doing and looked over at the open doorway. It was just my mother.

"Yes?" I asked.

Naoto Shirogane was my mother—yes, the famed _Detective Prince_ , as they had called her in her youth. She was short and petite—shorter than me, even—and wore her straight, deep blue hair down to her shoulders. Her blue eyes were calm, but very observant. Despite her professional business attire, she looked very motherly. Or at least, that was how I felt.

"How are you settling in?" she inquired. "Have you been getting enough rest?"

"I'm fine, Mom," I said, trying to give her a reassuring smile. "Tired, but fine. I haven't been pushing myself."

"Good." She appeared to be satisfied with that. "There is something else I wanted to tell you. Do you remember the Arisatos?"

Oh, yes… My mother had two siblings—twins who were older than her. When she had been four years old, they had gotten in a car accident on the Moonlight Bridge on Tatsumi Port Island. Their parents had died. While my mother was taken in by her grandfather on the Shirogane side of the family, her twin siblings, Minato and Minako, who had been six or seven, went to the Arisato side of the family. That's why they had a different surname.

However… in 2010, for some mysterious reason, Minato passed away. But before he died, he… impregnated his girlfriend. They got permission to marry, so he did take responsibility. But he didn't live long enough to see his twin children—a boy who was named after him and a girl who was named Miyako. But due to more reasons that I was unaware of, his widow was able to have another child via in vitro fertilization. She had a daughter, and named her Sonomi. She was about a year younger than me, I believed. I had never met any of my uncle's children.

"Yes," I replied. "What about them?"

"Your cousin, Sonomi, will be moving in and staying with us for the year," she informed me. "Her dog, Shion, is coming with her, too. Her mother's schedule has become incredibly busy and she is unable to be around enough to take care of her. So, we offered to take her in. She will be staying in Haku's room, but I would like you to look out for her. Transferring schools is always difficult."

"Of course," I said. "I doubt Haku will be much help, anyways."

Mom winced. "Give her time, Rui. It's been a while since we've all been together in the same house."

...That _was_ true. Well, maybe having a dog around could ease the tensions. Or at least I _hoped_ it would. Haku had always loved animals.

"I suppose," I sighed. "When is Sonomi arriving?"

"On Sunday," she said. "The transfer isn't quite completed right now. It's expected, though, with her coming from Gekkoukan High School. Hopefully the transition will go smoothly."

"Understood," I said. "Well, I need to finish unpacking."

"I'll leave you to it," Mom replied. "And remember, Rui—if you're struggling with anything, _please_ let us know."

...Despite spending most of my time away from home these past few years, my mother still knew how I worked. She knew that I hated worrying others, and often kept things to myself. I grimaced, reaching up to brush my bangs to the side.

"I will, Mom. Don't worry."

She pursed her lips, but then smiled. "Thank you. Good night, Rui."

I smiled tiredly. "Good night, Mom."

* * *

_Saturday, April 2nd, 2039, Cloudy._

* * *

It proved quite difficult for me to get up the next morning. I was still rather tired, and just sitting up gave me a dizzy spell. I had no choice but to take it very slowly while getting ready for the day. After my shower, I had to sit down for about a minute before getting dressed. I decided to put on my favorite outfit—a black strapless top, a violet high waisted leather skirt, tights that started out black, before turning opaque past the thigh high point, black heeled ankle boots, and a black leather jacket. I pulled back my long dark blue hair back into a tight side ponytail. After brushing my bangs to the side, I was satisfied, and left my bedroom.

Grandma had asked me to help her in the shop today, so after breakfast and a stiff, jilted conversation with my younger sister, who bolted as soon as she was done, I headed out front with her. I didn't mind helping her out; I had always had an interest in sewing and the like growing up.

"Rui-chan, could you unlock the door?" Grandma asked, holding out her keys to me.

I nodded, taking the keys from her, and walked over to the door. I stuck the key into the door knob, and once it was unlocked, I pulled it open to take a quick look outside. Ah… it was quite cloudy. In fact, it looked like it was about ready to rain any moment now. Well, at least I didn't have to go anywhere today, if it did indeed rain.

I shut the door and walked back. Grandma needed me to set out the new batch of dolls that Dad had made, so I got to it. Many minutes later, I was just finishing up when the bell rang, signaling that the door was opening and we had a customer. But my back was to the door, so I could not see who it was.

"Oh, if it isn't Iruka-chan! Sora-chan, too! It's been such a long time!"

...Wait, what? I froze in place.

"Hey, Mrs. Tatsumi!" I heard the cheerful voice of one of my friends, Iruka, exclaim. "I decided to drag Sora out here. Akemi wanted to come, but the inn is too busy."

"Well, Rui-chan is over there, if you haven't already noticed."

I wasn't surprised that Iruka would come to see me… but what was _Sora_ doing here? I forced myself to turn around to face towards them.

Iruka Hanamura was the youngest son of Yosuke and Chie Hanamura, long time friends of my parents. He had shaggy, light chestnut brown hair, and hazel eyes. He was wearing a green hoodie zipped up halfway, with a _Shin Megami Tensei_ t-shirt underneath, blue jeans, and a pair of green sneakers. He was a lot taller than the last time I had seen him in person.

And then there was… Sora Narukami.

He was the son of Yu and Rise Narukami, and an idol in his own right. He was known as _Sorata_ , and was a member of the idol group _Yuukan_. With his deep auburn hair styled with windswept bangs that fell down towards his brown eyes and tousled in the back, he was the epitome of a pretty boy. And well… I would be lying if I said I didn't find him attractive. But… that was something else entirely. He was wearing a bright red jacket with a fur-lined hood, a low v-neck black shirt, blue skinny jeans, and a pair of fashionable black boots. He was taller than Iruka by several centimeters, completely dwarfing me.

But Sora, unlike Iruka… was more than a best friend. I guess you could say he had been my first love when I was a child. Even after all these years, my feelings had remained. About three or four years ago, around the time Sora left to begin his idol career after winning an audition, we… Well, simply put, something happened between us. But idols cannot date, and for that reason, our relationship became strained. Seeing him again… reminded me of the heartbreak and the endless tears I had wept.

"Iruka," I greeted him, managing a smile despite those depressing thoughts. "And Sora… what a surprise. What are you doing here in Inaba?"

Iruka grabbed Sora by the arm, and not-so-subtly (he was probably trying, though) dragged him over to where I was standing. "C'mon, tell her, man!"

Sora sighed as he yanked away from him, and reached up to rub the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh, I… I lost my singing voice. So I'm on a hiatus to rest, and will be attending Yasogami with everybody else." He smiled nervously. "It's, um, really good to see you again, Rui. I'm glad you're okay."

I stiffened, as if on instinct. "I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully some rest will do you well."

That… was all I could say.

"Y-Yeah..." He glanced down, clearly keying in on my stiffness. "Only time will tell, I guess."

While I understood why we couldn't be in a romantic relationship, that did not negate how hurt I felt by the rejection. I was young, and that contributed to my vulnerability. I could not risk subjecting myself to that sort of pain again. No matter how seeing him in person made my heart beat faster, or made butterflies burst to life in my stomach. I had to ignore it. I couldn't… go through that again.

Iruka coughed. "So, uh, you've been doing better, right, Rui?"

I nodded. "Yes… though I have post-concussion syndrome."

"Shit." Sora's eyes widened. "I've heard about that."

I shrugged indifferently. "It could have been worse. But enough about me. We have a lot to catch up on."

Iruka grinned. "How 'bout we head over to Meikai and get some breakfast?"

Meikai was the name of the restaurant that Sora's and Iruka's fathers started together. Growing up, we all had spent a lot of time there, whether it was eating or just hanging out. It would be nice to go there after such a long time. I wondered if it had changed at all. Though I had already eaten…

"Go on, Rui-chan," Grandma said before I could even ask. "Have some fun with your friends."

"All right!" Iruka cheered happily. "Let's go, guys!"

Before either of us could even respond, he grabbed both of us by the arm and proceeded to drag us out of the shop. Once we were a couple of meters away, he released us.

"Damn, this is exciting!" he exclaimed. "It's been forever since we've all been together in one place. Er, Akemi isn't here, but still."

"It _is_ nice," I agreed, smiling a little.

"Yeah..." Sora forced a smile of his own as we started walking. "It's good to be back."

Iruka looked from Sora, to me, like he was noticing how… distant we were from each other. It probably was obvious. We used to be so close, after all. I just hoped he didn't ask any prying questions. Iruka had to know better than to interrogate me, at least.

"Soooo," Iruka drew out as he walked in between us. "Anything new going on?"

"Other than suffering severe head trauma and being bedridden in a hospital for a month, I've got nothing," I deadpanned.

He let out a strained laugh. "Very funny, Rui! What about you, Sora?"

Sora shrugged indifferently. "Same. Nothing else is new."

"What about _you_?" I inquired.

"Huh? Me?" His eyes widened with surprise. "Just the… same old same old. You know how Inaba is. Nothing really changes here. Though, there is that tower the Sera Group is building."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Sora said.

I raised an eyebrow. "What tower?"

The Sera Group was a conglomerate that had only popped up in recent years—next year was their thirtieth anniversary, in fact. They had some sort of connection to the Kirijo Group, but I was uncertain of to what degree. But they were so successful, they were putting the Kirijos out of business. It probably didn't help that the Kirijo Group was still trying to make amends for their past sins. But the Seras had _some_ criticism—the CEO, Shoji Sera, married an American woman.

"You don't know?" Iruka asked in astonishment. "Well, you were in the hospital for a long time… At the beginning of March, the Sera Group started building this tower on some land they bought at the outskirts of town. They said it will be the unveiling of this brand new energy source they discovered. And it's supposed to be completed in time for their thirtieth anniversary next year. Everybody's been talking about it."

"I bet a lot of people aren't happy," Sora muttered. "They were pissy just from Junes building a store here."

Iruka grimaced. "Dude… some people are _still_ pissy about that."

I sighed. "Change is inevitable, yet people hate it when it arrives."

By the time I said that, we had arrived at Meikai. It was in the New Shopping District, which branched off from the Old Shopping District. It had come to be around 2012 or so, I believed. Most of the new shops were here. Meikai was smack dab in the center of the long road. It was only a ten minute walk from Tatsumi Textiles.

"Well, here we are," Iruka said. "Let's go inside and get some grub!"

He opened the door, and gesture for Sora and me to head in. I stepped inside first, followed by Sora, and then Iruka himself. But as soon as I did so, I was assaulted by a rush of noise. I winced, the lively chatter of the restaurant. There was a bar for patrons who were of legal age to drink, and tables for patrons who came in to dine. It was busier than I remembered for mornings.

"Welcome to—oh, it's you, Iruka-kun. And you brought some friends?"

A girl, who I assumed was a waitress due to her attire, had approached us. She had long brown tied back in a low, loose ponytail to the side, a rather fair complexion, and hazel eyes. She appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen, making her a third year.

"Oh, hey, Senpai," Iruka greeted her, after a pause of surprise. "Yeah, they just got back in town. This is Sora Narukami and Rui Shirogane. Guys, this is Honoka Toda. She works here, and goes to our school."

The waitress smiled. "It's nice to meet you. You're Narukami-san's son, aren't you? He mentioned you were coming home from your work as an idol."

Sora let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, yeah, that's me. But please keep it down… I don't really want it to get out that I'm here yet."

She nodded. "Of course. I completely understand." Her gaze flickered to me. "And you're Detective Shirogane's daughter? Don't they call you the 'Princess Sleuth'?"

My face scrunched up. "I'm not very fond of that moniker… but yes. It's a pleasure."

Iruka grinned. "Senpai is our best waitress here. Everyone loves her!"

Honoka's cheeks darkened and she let out an embarrassed laugh. "Oh, you're exaggerating, Iruka-kun. But I really should get back to work. Shall I get you a table?"

"Okay, okay," Iruka laughed. "A table's good."

...Hm. I could be overlooking this, considering how long since I had seen Iruka in person, but it appeared he could possibly have a crush on this Honoka. However, I was reluctant to believe this, due to the fact that for as long as I could remember, Iruka and Akemi had liked each other, but never acted on those feelings. Though, it was an assumption on Iruka's side, as only Akemi had confessed to me that she had a crush.

I just… wanted my best friend to be happy. I didn't want her to go through what I did. I would need to keep an eye on this development. For Iruka's sake as well.

...But I would not dwell on this now. I would focus on enjoying the food here and catching up with my friends. I needed to take things one at a time.

So I followed my friends as the waitress and our future senpai led us to a table.

* * *

"Hey, Rui, wait!"

After eating breakfast with my friends, Iruka had been called back by his dad, who was on his shift, to help with something. He told us we could just go, and that we didn't have to wait for him. I had been about to leave the restaurant, when Sora stopped me.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him as he came to a halt in front of me.

"Um..." He seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Can we… talk?"

...I knew this was coming. There was no avoiding it.

"Fine," I sighed. "You have until I get home. I'm starting to get tired."

It was all because of my stupid PCS.

But this didn't seem to bother him, because he smiled brightly. "Thanks."

I just shrugged, and opened the door. "Let's go."

Not waiting for him, I headed outside. The weather was still crisp, and the sun was hidden by the blanket of storm clouds lining the sky. It truly looked like it was about to rain any second now, and neither of us had an umbrella. How troublesome. But, I pushed the minor annoyance to the side, and started walking. Sora kept right up with me.

"Um, so..." he started to say. "We really need to… talk about us."

I stiffened, refusing to look at him. "What's there to talk about? You made yourself very clear last time."

I wasn't sure what I expected, but it definitely wasn't the response I got.

"Dammit, that was _three_ years ago! And it wasn't like I had a choice! You know idols aren't allowed to date. Don't freaking try to guilt trip me!"

I stopped dead in my tracks, and slowly turned to glare at him. "I'm _not_ trying to guilt trip you. I'm merely stating the facts."

"The facts about _what_?" he demanded, scowling.

"That your career is more important than those you care about," I deadpanned.

"Are you… Are you really _that_ spiteful, Rui?" He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, before reopening them. "Let me start over. Look… I know I really, really hurt you, and I'd take it all back if I could. But I can't. And I dunno if your PCS made you forget or what, but… you yourself told me I should follow my dreams. You said you'd support me no matter what. You said… we'd _always_ be friends. I know three years is a long time, and people change, but… come _on_ , Rui."

I… stared at him, my eyes widening. Dammit… I _had_ forgotten. I… felt ashamed of myself. Pressing a hand to the side of my head, I closed my eyes. Ugh… if only I could just keep my big mouth shut…

"I'm… so sorry," I muttered. "I forgot..."

"It's not your fault, Rui," he sighed. "But hear me out for a sec…"

I forced myself to open my eyes, lower my hand, and look back up at him. "...I'm listening."

"I know this is a lot to take on the first day we've seen each other in ages, but… I have to say it," Sora continued quietly. "I just want you to know that… my feelings haven't changed. It's okay if you don't still feel the same way for me. I understand completely-"

I didn't know what exactly happened, but something inside of me just snapped, and I reached forward, grabbing him by his jacket and yanking him down to smash my lips to his. His body went rigid in shock, but then he relaxed, slipping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer as he kissed me back. It was a bit of a strain to reach him, with him being so damn tall, but I managed.

Sora broke the kiss, and I rocked back on my heels. D-Damn… My face felt flushed and my heart was beating so hard in my chest, I thought it might burst out.

"...You know we're in the middle of a sidewalk, right?"

I snapped out of my daze, finally realizing what the hell I just did. Sora had that mischievous smile of his on his lips, which earned him a glare.

"...Shut _up_."

He laughed, and that smirk turned into a grin. "I guess that gives me my answer, huh?"

I scowled, crossing my arms over my chest. "I don't know what you've talking about."

"Aw, don't be like that, Rui-chan!" he whined, but I knew he was just playing around. "But seriously… I'm on hiatus. I'm not working as an idol. We can do whatever the hell we want, y'know?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Define 'whatever the hell we want'."

"Weeeell..." He winked. "Whatever the hell _you_ want. I'm game for anything."

"Sure you are," I deadpanned. "But I'm not like those girls you can just woo over with words, Sora. I'm very familiar with your idol persona, and I don't find it appealing at all."

He grimaced. "Sorry. I'm just… used to acting like that all the time. It's really hard to shut off. Sometimes it feels like there isn't even anything to switch to."

Well… I guess that was plausible…

"It's fine, Sora," I sighed, reaching up to brush my bangs away from my eyes. "Like you said earlier… this is the first time we've seen each other in person for years. Let's… give it some time, all right? Then, when things have settled down, we can decide."

He reached up to run a hand through his hair. "Yeah… good idea. Rushing into anything would be bad."

I managed a smile, suddenly hit by a wave of exhaustion. "Will you still walk me home?"

He smiled too, albeit a much more cheerful one. "'Course. That was the deal, anyways."

Mmmm… Sora seemed a bit more on the flighty side now, but he was still reliable. I knew I could count on him. Some things had changed, yes, but at least I knew one thing was for certain: the four of us—Sora, Iruka, Akemi, and me—would continue to remain the best of friends. And that was all I needed right now.


	3. A New Start

**SONOMI**

* * *

_Sunday, April 3rd, 2039, Cloudy._

* * *

"Sonomi?"

This entire time, I had been staring out the window of the train. Early this morning, Mom and I had boarded the train heading for Yasoinaba Station to take me to Inaba, where I would be staying with my youngest aunt, her husband, and their family for the year. Mom had taken a new modeling job, which paid really well, and because of it she would have to travel the country a lot. Aunt Minako and Uncle Akihiko couldn't take me in this time because their work with the Shadow Operatives was really picking up, and my big brother and sister had their hands full with their own families. Even my grandma couldn't take me in. So instead, I was going to live with people I had never met…

At least I would have Shion, my shiba inu, with me… but she was being flown into the nearest city with an airport, and then driven to Okina City tomorrow for us to pick up because it was easier to do that instead of taking her on the train.

I looked over at my mom, who was sitting in the seat next to mine. "Yes, Mom?"

Her name was Yukari Arisato, and she was a famous model and actress. She had been since she graduated high school. And in my opinion, she was just as beautiful now as she was then. She had light brown hair that curved in towards her chin, _perfect_ skin, and eyes that were the same color as her hair. She was wearing a loose light pink blouse, white jeans, and a pair of silver pumps.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay with this?"

I tried to smile reassuringly. "It's okay, Mom—really. I'll be fine."

My mom had always been… overprotective of me. I mean, I understood why. Dad was… dead. I technically shouldn't even exist… But Mom could be really... smothering. I knew she just didn't want anything to happen to me… and she definitely didn't want me to get sucked into the Shadow Operative business, even though I had a Persona.

Mom pursed her lips. "Do you remember your promise?"

I couldn't help but make a face.

She had made me promise not to use my Persona… at _all_. Sometimes, back when I was still living with Aunt Minako and Uncle Akihiko, I summoned my Persona for some… _training_. When Mom found out about what I was doing, she got really, really mad. She told me she wanted me to have a normal life, and that meant _no Persona_.

But… while I was packing… I kind of swiped my dad's Evoker from where my mom kept it. She thought it was a secret, but I'd known where it was for a long time. I just… did _not_ want to go anywhere without a way to summon my Persona, just in case. Yeah, I was disobeying my mom, but…

"Yes, I do," I said, nodding.

I wasn't sure if she would be satisfied by that, but she smiled. "Good. I expect you to keep it."

Ugh… Way to make me feel guilty, Mom. I just forced myself to smile, too, and nodded again. I… wasn't used to going against my mom. I guess you could say I was a good kid. I never broke the rules. But this time… I just had a feeling in my gut that I needed to be able to summon my Persona. Besides, it wasn't _fair_. My cousin and one of my friends got to use their Personas and they were the same age as me. Though, both of them _did_ have analyzing Personas… but my Persona had _some_ analysis abilities.

Since she seemed to be done saying whatever she had to say, I decided to put on my headphones and play some music. Well… they weren't really _my_ headphones and mp3 player… They belonged to my dad when he was alive. My siblings, MJ and Miyako, passed it onto me once I was old enough to listen to his music. It was the only thing I had as a connection to him. I used my cell phone to store my own music.

My favorite song on his mp3, _Burn My Dread_ , started playing. I closed my eyes, and tuned out everything else so I could focus on the music. Or at least, that was what I _tried_ to do. My cell went off, catching my attention, so I pulled it out of my handbag. I saw that I had gotten a text message from my friend Misa.

Her name was Misa Kamei, but she was probably better known as the new, upcoming idol _Mimi_. We had met a few years back, and even though she was a year younger than me, we were in the same class, because she was born earlier in the year. She had no parents, and had lived in an orphanage until Takura Productions scouted her out. Because of that, we didn't get to see each other all that often anymore. But she seemed so much happier now that she was following her dream, and that was all that mattered to me.

_[TO: Sonomin] OMG OMG I GOT INTO THE LMB FEST!_

Oh, that was great! Every year, the Love Meets Bonds Festival was held in early September. It was a pretty big deal, especially for the idol industry. Misa had been talking about how she really wanted to perform at it.

_[TO: Misa K.] that's awesome! you definitely deserve it :)_

I really did mean it! Part of Misa's dream was to sing in the LMB. She wanted to perform alongside the other idols—especially Yuukan, who performed Calystegia every year. Though… the festival may be more solemn this year. After all, the ex-leader, Hiroyuki Mikami, committed suicide a few months ago, after being ripped apart by a scandal…

_[TO: Sonomin] thank u so much! i'm so excited omg_

_[TO: Sonomin] but what about u? have u gotten to inaba yet?_

I looked out the window. The landscape rolling by looked pretty rural to me. We had to be getting close. Just thinking about it made my stomach clench nervously. Soon, I'd be in the small town that would be my home for the next year…

_[TO: Misa K.] not yet, but we're getting closer_

_[TO: Misa K.] tbh… i'm kinda scared…_

I didn't want to admit it, but it was true… I was scared about moving to a new place, living with family I had never met, having to start a new school… the whole thing. I bit my bottom lip, staring down at the phone in my hands.

_[TO: Sonomin] hey it'll be ok i'm sure! ur really strong sonomin! i have complete faith in u!_

I smiled softly. Leave it to Misa to try to make me feel better… She was always like that. Misa loved making people happy. That was another reason why she wanted to become an idol. Sometimes I felt like she would do anything to make someone happy… even at the cost of hurting herself.

_[TO: Misa K.] thanks misa… it means a lot to hear that_

_[TO: Sonomin] ANYTIME! but there's something i need to tell u. have u heard about the midnight station?_

I frowned, wondering what she was talking about. Midnight Station…? What was that?

_[TO: Misa K.] no, what is it?_

I didn't get much time to think over what it could possibly be, because she messaged me back pretty fast.

_[TO: Sonomin] well u remember how hiro the former leader of yuukan killed himself in january? well there's this rumor that he recorded one last song before he shot himself. and every night, at midnight, if u turn on the radio, u can hear the song playing_

...Wait, what? Again, I didn't get much of a chance to think about it, because she messaged me again.

_[TO: Sonomin] and if u listen to the whole song… u eventually will go mad and kill yourself just like hiro did! it happens to some people super fast like before the night is even over. but for others it takes days for them to go crazy. i've heard people have actually died because of this!_

_[TO: Sonomin] it's so creepy… like hiro-senpai… is trying to get revenge on everybody! i know u listen to music a lot so pls don't listen to it at midnight!_

I… had no words…

It was true… Or at least, the part about the former idol…

Yuukan was a famous boy idol group. It had been formed with the concept of something like… _let's bring together the children of other famous idols._ The original leader was Hiroyuki Mikami, but everyone knew him as Hiro. He was the son of an older idol that our generation wasn't very familiar with. The other members were Sora something that was escaping my mind... or Sorata, the son of Risette, Yoshi Mashita, or Yoshio, the son of Kanamin, Mamoru Nakahara, or Mamo, the son of Nozomin, Hideaki Uesugi, or Akio, the son of Tamamin, and Shigeo Sayama, or Geo, the son of Tomomin. They were super popular—to the point of being the top group at one point. But… Hiro got caught into a huge, ugly scandal.

Hiro had been seeing a girl in secret… which is seriously forbidden. About a year and a half ago… they got caught on accident by one of the group members. The scandal that ensued was one of the worst the industry had ever seen. And to make things worse… it turned out that he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. Yuukan was almost disbanded because the other members got flack, too… but Hiro was kicked out, and Sorata was appointed the new leader. I wasn't sure what happened to Hiro after that, since he and his girlfriend disappeared off the face of the earth.

That is, until January… when his then fiancée found him dead, having shot himself… Nobody was sure how he even got the gun… It was a horrible mess… Yuukan got hit really hard. And now, more recently, Sorata had to go on a hiatus for medical reasons, leaving Yoshio as the leader until his return. They just weren't catching a break. Honestly… I was surprised they hadn't disbanded.

_[TO: Misa K.] don't worry about me, okay? i'll be fine_

That rumor couldn't be true… could it? There was no way a song could kill people… Though I couldn't really dismiss supernatural activity, having a Persona and all. But… what could I even do about this? Look into it? I _could_ access the radio on my dad's MP3 player.

Maybe… tonight… I would try it out.

_[TO: Sonomin] ok i just wanted u to know! but I gotta go. have a photo shoot. ttyl sonomin!_

* * *

"-and this is Sonomi."

I was standing nervously in front of the entire family of my dad's younger sister. There were five members—Naoto Shirogane, my dad's sister, Kanji Tatsumi, her husband, Rui, their oldest daughter, Kohaku, their second daughter, and Yori, their only son. Mom had just finished introducing us to them.

"U-Um… hello," I managed to get out, shyly waving my hand a little.

Aunt Naoto smiled warmly. "It's nice to finally meet you, Sonomi. Welcome to Inaba."

I would be lying if I said I didn't find my cousins a bit intimidating… but at least my aunt and uncle looked welcoming enough. I had heard that even _Yori_ was a genius, even though he was only six years old. They just seemed… daunting.

Rui, for example… She wasn't the tallest, but she looked so beautiful. Her midnight blue hair was silky smooth, and even though it was pulled back in a high ponytail angled to the side, it went down to the small of her back. Her bangs were swept to the side, reaching down towards her chin. Her eyes were stormy gray. Even her outfit was really stylish.

Her sister, Kohaku, was taller than her by a few centimeters, and clearly took more after their dad. Though she had sharper features, she was still rather pretty. She had bleached blonde hair that fell down to her shoulders, with her thick fringe bangs swept across her forehead, and blue eyes. But with the way she dressed… it made me think she was a very rebellious person.

I would be going to school with them, wouldn't I? That was a bit intimidating…

"T-Thank you," I said, gripping the hem of my sweater nervously.

Mom checked her watch. "Darn, my train will be here sooner than I thought. I have to switch platforms." Her gaze landed on me. "I'm sorry, Sonomi. We'll have to part here."

I… wasn't surprised. Even now, she was running a tight schedule. So I just nodded, reaching up to readjust the strap of my bag on my shoulder. There was no use fighting it. I was used to having to say goodbye by now.

"Okay," I sighed. "Goodbye, Mom."

She gave me a gentle, but sad smile, before stepping closer and pulling me into a tight hug. "Don't forget I'm just a call away. Even if I don't answer at the time, I will always call you back when I can."

I forced myself to pull back after a few moments of hugging. "I won't, Mom."

It was obvious that she was even hesitant to release me from her embrace. She gave me one last sad smile and a squeeze before letting me go and turning to go, after picking her luggage up from the ground. This… was the last time I would see her for a while.

"Well, I'm off. Thank you again for taking her in, Naoto, Kanji."

"Aw, it's nothin'," Uncle Kanji snorted. "Right, Naoto?"

She nodded. "Yes. It's the least we can do."

Mom smiled again, and nodded, this one seeming brighter. "Yeah. See you all in a year!"

I watched as she headed back into the station, disappearing inside the station. As soon as she was out of my sight, I felt my heart sink into my chest. I was all alone again… Just me, and some people I had just met… since I didn't have Shion with me yet…

"Come on, Sonomi," Aunt Naoto said, gesturing for me to come over and join them. "Let's go home."

...Home, huh…? Would I really be able to call their house that?

Fighting the urge to sigh, I nodded, and walked on over to them. "Okay."

* * *

When Mom had said Inaba was a small town, she hadn't been kidding. I knew it was rural, but I hadn't expected it to be so… _stretched out_. You really did need a car to get around; walking on foot was bound to be a hassle. I peered out the window as we rode along, looking up at the overcast sky. Wow, it looked it like it was about to downpour any minute now.

I hoped it would hold out until we got inside. If my hair got wet, it would explode in a huge mess of curls. It was weird. My mom's hair wasn't exactly _curly_ , but it curved and somehow that made my hair do that sometimes. Most of the time, though, it was smooth with a slight wave to it.

But about ten minutes later, we pulled up into a parking lot that most definitely did not belong to Tatsumi Textiles. No, this was some kind of restaurant. The sign read _Meikai_. I frowned in confusion, an uneasy knot settling in my stomach. Why were we here? Why hadn't we gone back to the house?

"We're stopping here for dinner, Sonomi," Aunt Naoto responded, looking behind her seat at me where I was sitting in the back with my cousins. "Two of our old friends run this restaurant."

"Okay," I sighed. It couldn't hurt, could it?

"Jeez, don't sound so excited," Kohaku muttered as we all started unbuckling our seat belts.

"I'm sure she's tired," Rui said, helping Yori get unbuckled. "Cut her some slack, Haku."

She scowled, glowering at her sister. "Whatever."

I watched as she got out of the SUV; my aunt and uncle had already gotten out as well. The door on the other side slid open, revealing Aunt Naoto, who had come to help Yori out.

"Aneki is always so grumpy," he mumbled to her once he was standing on the asphalt.

"I know, I know," she sighed. "Let's go inside, all right?"

Rui and I got out as well. I couldn't help but glance up at the sky, which was still as cloudy as ever. I remember in science class once, the teacher mentioned how abnormal the Inaba region's weather got every now and then. I wondered if that was starting to happen again. Either way, I was already missing the Port Island sun.

"Sonomi?"

"Y-Yes?!" I snapped out of my thoughts so fast, I nearly jumped right out of my skin. "U-Um, I mean… yes, Rui-san?"

"You don't have to be formal with me," she laughed. "But you kind of zoned out there for a moment. Everyone has gone inside."

"H-Huh?" My eyes widening, and after glancing around I saw that she was right. "I… I'm sorry. I guess I'm more tired than I thought."

No, not really… I had a tendency to daydream and zone out a lot. Sometimes I was getting lost in my music, or thinking about the manga I was currently reading. I, um, had a tendency to fall asleep in class, too… Sometimes I really wonder how I even get good grades.

"It's fine," she reassured me. "I've been quite tired myself lately. You're not the only one."

I… wasn't really expecting this. Rui was being so… nice. I guess I didn't think she would be so… big sisterly. She was only a year older than me, and yet…

I let out a weak laugh. "Y-Yeah, I guess not. But… shouldn't we go inside?"

"Of course," she replied with a nod.

I let her lead the way to the front door, and she opened it, gesturing for me to go in. I stepped inside, wondering what kind of food they even served here-

"WELCOME TO INABA, SONOMI-CHAN!"

I almost jumped right out of my skin as a bunch of people stood up from chairs, shouting that. I just stared in shock, my eyes wide as saucers. O-Okay… I _really_ hadn't been expecting this!

"We threw you a welcome party," Rui said with a smile. "We thought it'd be a good way to introduce you to everyone."

"Oh my gosh!"

Another voice snapped my attention away from my cousin as three other kids around my age, including my younger cousin, approached us. A girl bolted ahead, skidding to a stop in front of me.

"You are so cute!" she gasped. "I totally did not expect you to be this cute!"

"H-Huh?" I sputtered, feeling my cheeks heat up.

The girl was around Kohaku's height, making her taller than both me and Rui. She had light brown hair styled in a bob that went down to her chin, though it kind of curved to the side—even the way her bangs were swept to the side was affected by that—and she wore an orange headband. Her eyes were hazel, and had this mischievous, troublesome glint to them that made me think of Shion more than anything else. She was wearing an orange pullover hoodie with a black dragon logo on it, a black skater skirt, dark gray leggings, and a pair of orange converse sneakers.

"Knock it off, Kaya," said the stern, chiding voice of a boy. "You're scaring her."

"I _am_ not!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff.

The boy was on the taller side, but still not incredibly tall, and his slimness gave him bit of a lanky look. He had short, neatly cut black hair, a fair complexion, and eyes that were just as dark as his hair. He seemed a lot calmer than that girl, giving off a serene atmosphere. He was wearing a red button up sweater over a white dress shirt, black trousers, and a pair of black loafers. Wow, that was awfully… mature. I never thought I'd see a kid my age dressing like that.

The other boy let out an embarrassed laugh, drawing my attention to him as he rubbed the back of his head. " _C'mon_ , guys. You're not making a very good first impression to our future classmate."

Haku snorted, crossing her arms over her chest, too. "Like Kaya'd ever make a good first impression."

"HEY! That's not nice, Ko-chan!"

"How many times do I hafta freakin' tell you not to call me that?!"

I almost didn't hear what they were saying, because all I could do was stare with wide eyes at the other boy. I… He… was so… _cute_. I felt like I got hit with a Marin Karin—er, without any of the creepy symptoms.

He was short for a boy, only standing a few centimeters taller than my cousin and the other girl, but he seemed to be built more sturdily. He had boyishly styled ash brown hair, with his bangs falling down to just above his gray eyes. He was wearing a light gray shirt thinly striped with gray with a black jacket without a hood over it, a white scarf, dark gray jeans, and a pair of black boots. His presence was somehow… reassuring… despite not knowing who he even was.

"Guys!" He exclaimed with exasperation. "Seriously, we're all going to be in the same year. Could you _not_ be so dramatic?"

"I'm not the one being dramatic," the black-haired boy muttered.

"Ugh! Just forget it," Kohaku groaned. "Look, Sonomi—these idiots are my friends. We're all starting as first years at Yasogami, too."

"Aw, I knew you cared about us!" the other girl exclaimed, smiling cheekily.

"Will you shut _up_?!"

"Haha..." The friendly boy rubbed the back of his head again, but then his gaze drifted back over to me. I realized I must have still been staring at him because his eyes widened slightly and his cheeks tinted pink. "Uh… I'm really sorry about them. They're... always like this."

I tucked in my chin in embarrassment, feeling my face start burning again, and thankfully my bangs hid more of my face. "I-It's, um... fine!"

I heard him let out a gentle laugh. "I'm Haruto Narukami, but everyone just calls me Haru."

...Narukami…? That sounded familiar… I had definitely heard it somewhere before. But I couldn't remember where exactly… Narukami, Narukami, _Narukami_ … This was going to drive me _crazy_ -

"Aaahh!" I gasped, clasping the sides of my head as a piercing pain stabbed through my skull.

"Whoa, are you okay?!"

I realized I had hunched over. The pain had vanished almost as quickly as it had come… I slowly stood up straight again, lowering my hands. I looked down at the floor dejectedly. I had worried everyone…

"I-It was just a headache… Sorry..."

"Hey, don't apologize!" the other girl insisted. "It's not your fault. Oh, I'm Kaya Hanamura. I'm Haru-chan's partner!"

"H-Huh?" My eyes widened in surprise.

Of course he would have a girlfriend… I was stupid to even think I could even have a chance with a cute, nice boy-

"Kaya," he groaned. "There you go again, making people think the opposite of what you mean."

"Eh?" She tilted her head to the side. "What, you mean like dating partners? Pssh, I'd date Rei-chan before I even thought about dating you! And Rei-chan is like the twin brother I never had!"

"Glad to know you hold me in such high esteem," the black-haired boy deadpanned. "I'm Reizo Amagi, by the way. It's nice to meet you, Sonomi-san."

...Oh… so they weren't _that_ kind of partners? I was confused, but-

"Ugh, not this bull again," Kohaku muttered. "Stop yacking your jaw about dating to a girl you just met. Jeez."

"Kaya started it," Haru sighed.

"Hey, don't put all the blame on me!" she exclaimed defensively. "Not my fault all the girls in our year think you're eye candy or something."

"KAYA!"

"Okay, okay, I'm shutting up!"

"Sheesh, I can hear your screeching all the way over there."

I didn't get a chance to even think about what I had just heard, because we looked over to see Rui walking over with three people I assumed were her friends and most likely my future classmates' siblings. But as soon as I saw one of them, I immediately recognized him.

"Sorata?!" I gasped. "You know _Sorata_ , Rui?!"

As soon as I said his name, he flinched. Sorata really didn't look like how he did on TV… but I wasn't surprised. Mom was the same way. His stylish auburn hair was messier, but he still pulled it off, and his brown eyes seemed more tired than energetic. Even his clothing style was a bit different, as he wore a black low v neck shirt under a deep red jacket with white fur lining the hood, skinny blue jeans, and a pair of black boots that looked wicked expensive. Now that I looked at him, I realized that Haru really did look similar to him.

Rui opened her mouth to speak, but Kohaku beat her to the punch.

"What, did Haru saying his last name is _Narukami_ not give it away?"

"U-Um..." I shrunk back, unable to find my voice. Okay, I had known I had heard that name before somewhere, but I could have sworn it wasn't as Sorata's real name… "I..."

"Haku, cut her some slack," Haru sighed. "Not everyone knows Aniki's real name."

So they were brothers…

"You really could be nicer, Haku," Rui said sternly. "I came here to introduce my friends to Sonomi."

"Well, guess I don't have to introduce myself then," Sora said with a nervous laugh. "You're a fan, I take it."

I nodded shyly. "I love Yuukan! I got disappointed when you revealed you were going on hiatus, but I understand why. My mom is in showbiz, so I know how tough it can be."

He actually… looked relieved, and finally gave me a genuine smile. "I'm glad to hear that. But besides all of that, you're Rui's cousin, so I'll do my best to be a great senpai!"

The other boy with them snorted a laugh. "You've got your work cut out for you, partner. Watch her end up being better senpai material."

"Hey!"

...This partner thing again?

The other boy was slightly shorter than Sora, making him rather tall, dwarfing me completely. He had shaggy, slightly tousled light chestnut brown hair, and hazel eyes. By what he was wearing, I assumed he was an athletic type—a green hoodie, a t-shirt with a video game franchise title on it, jeans, and green sneakers. I realized he shared some traits with Kaya, now that I was looking at him.

"Are you Kaya-chan's brother?" I asked curiously.

"Huh?" His eyes widened with surprise. "Yeah, I am. My name's Iruka."

"I call him _Flipper_ ," Kaya snickered. "It suits him _so_ much better."

"You're really never gonna stop that, are you?" Iruka groaned.

"Nope!" she exclaimed with a cheerful grin.

"That leaves me!" the only other girl exclaimed brightly. "I'm Akemi Amagi! I'm Reizo's sister!"

I almost found myself staring at her, too, once I finally really looked at her. She had long black hair pulled up in high pigtails, cascading down past her shoulders, with the ends curled, and her bang were done in the hime cut. Her fair complexion just added to her natural beauty, and her eyes were bright blue. Her style was obviously gothic lolita, like Aunt Chidori—a lacy long sleeved black blouse under a black jumper dress with lace lined straps, a ribbon tied a few centimeters below the sweetheart neckline, and a thick, but lacy skirt with tier lines that went down to her knees. She had on black tights and a pair of black flats with bows on the toes. And while she appeared very ladylike, the bubbly tone in her voice said otherwise.

"Um… hello..." I managed to get out, still feeling very shy.

She just smiled sweetly. "I bet this is really overwhelming, huh? I doubt Reizo and Kaya-chan are helping either."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Kaya huffed, which just spurred everyone into laughing.

"There are still some people I need to introduce you too," Rui said once everyone had settled down.

"Oh, you mean our older siblings?" Sora asked. "Well, Yuina and Rie are over there. And Setsuko-san is talking to Aunt Yukiko. Kotone is with Mom and Dad. Ryuu and Kazuo are away at college, though—not like that's a _loss_."

"You still have issues with you brother, I see," Rui stated, giving him a piercing look. "They're coming back for the summer, so the introductions can be made then. Besides, this is Sonomi's party and she has yet to even have some food."

As if to add to her statement, my stomach let out a loud growl. My cheeks heat up with embarrassment, and I laughed nervously. Rui just gave me a gentle, reassuring smile. Wow… She was seriously a lot nicer than I thought she'd be. It was such a relief.

"Let's get you something to eat, and then I'll introduce you to the others."

* * *

"How are you feeling, Sonomi? If you're getting tired, we can go home."

We had been here for a couple of hours. I had been a lot hungrier than I thought, and ended up eating until I thought I would burst. The food was soooooo good! They had shut down the entire restaurant for the evening just to throw me this party… and that itself made me feel so much better about this entire situation.

Maybe… it really won't be so bad after all.

"I'm fine, Aunt Naoto," I told her, giving her a little smile. "I don't want to go yet."

But before anyone could say anything else, a cell phone went off. Aunt Naoto frowned, and reached into her pocket to pull it out. She pursed her lips as she read the caller ID.

"It's work," she said, standing up. "I have to take this. I'll be right back."

Silence persisted as she walked away, but once she was out of ear shot...

Kohaku scowled, leaned back in her seat, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Figures. Work _always_ comes first."

Rui stiffened. "You know that's not how it works, Haku."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, _please_. You're just a kiss ass to Mom."

"Kohaku!" Uncle Kanji barked, scowling so fiercely it made him even scarier. "Don't talk about your ma or your sister like that."

Yori shrunk back in his seat, almost curling up. "Please don't fight..."

That simple statement… with the sadness in his little voice… seemed to drain the aggressiveness right out of them all. Kohaku slumped in her seat, despite still looking pretty angry. Rui reached up to brush her bangs away from her eyes as Uncle Kanji tried to say something reassuring to his son. But after that… an awkward silence fell.

Great… I was getting thrown into a family with issues… Mine was perfect either, but… we weren't this bad. I didn't always get along with my mom, but I didn't have any problems with MJ and Miyako… Then again, there were only three of us kids and we didn't have a genius detective mother… though Mom was a genius in her own way. Despite her work keeping her away from us, she always did her best. She always made time for our birthdays and important holidays. She was like… a _supermom_.

I missed her already…

I must have zoned out in my thoughts again, because Aunt Naoto had already come back. The grim look on her face set chills down my spine. Oh no… had something bad happened?

"That was Dojima-san," she said, her tone as forbidding as her expression. "I have to go in. Honoka Toda, one of the waitresses here, who was supposed to come to the party… Well, I now know why."

Rui frowned. "Honoka-senpai? Is she all right?"

Aunt Naoto closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "Honoka… committed suicide."

* * *

The house was pretty much empty… Takako-san, Uncle Kanji's mother, had gone to bed early. Rui had put Yori to bed as soon as we got home, since both of her parents went down to the police station. In fact, all of the adults did. They apparently knew this Honoka well…

"I can't believe this," Kohaku muttered as she plopped down on the couch. "It doesn't make any sense. Honoka-senpai sure as hell was nowhere near close to even _being_ depressed."

"You don't know that," Rui stated quietly as she walked into the living room after checking the thermostat. "People can hide depression very well. They can make you think everything is well, when in reality, that's far from the truth."

Yeah… I knew that all too well.

"You didn't know her like we did!" Kohaku retorted with a scowl. "She was always so damn happy. Smiling and laughing all the time. She was like another big sister to Hanamura and Kaya. Hell, Kaya has this huge ass crush on her! I don't even wanna see her reaction to this!"

"Death isn't easy to deal with," I sighed softly.

I had never even met my dad… but some days, it was _so_ hard. When I was little, every time I saw a kid with their father… looking so, so happy… I would get jealous… and incredibly sad. I never would be able to spend time with Dad… I'd never get to know him. I'd never get to hold his hand, or hug him, or go to the park with him, or walk Shion together. All I had was pictures, Mom's stories, and his headphones and MP3 player.

Rui looked down at the ground for a moment, before turning to her sister. "I know Mom said to leave everything to her, but… I have to ask. Was Honoka saying any unusual lately? Or acting strangely? Anything out of the ordinary?"

Kohaku frowned, furrowing her brow thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it… She told me about this weird rumor that's been going around. She normally ignored urban legends, like the Midnight Channel thing that's been around for ages. But this one… really interested her."

Urban legend…? Oh, wait…!

_Well, you remember how Hiro, the former leader of Yuukan, killed himself in January? There's this rumor that he recorded one last song before he shot himself. And every night, at midnight, if you turn on the radio, you can hear the song playing._

_And if you listen to the whole song… you eventually will go mad and kill yourself, just like Hiro did! It happens to some people super fast, like before the night is even over. But for others it takes days for them to go crazy. I've heard people have actually died because of this!_

_It's so creepy… like Hiro-senpai… is trying to get revenge on everybody! I know you listen to music a lot so please don't listen to it at midnight!_

I felt chills run down my spine. "Is it… that rumor about the song sung by that idol that killed himself a few months ago?"

Kohaku looked at me in surprise. "Yeah, that. Everyone's calling in the 'Midnight Station'."

Rui raised an eyebrow. "Please elaborate."

"Every night at midnight, if you turn on the radio… the last song Hiro, the former leader of the group Yuukan, ever recorded plays," I told her. "And if you listen to the full song… it will make you go crazy and commit suicide just like Hiro did."

Rui's eyes widened. "Yuukan? As in the group that Sora is in?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You don't remember that? It wasn't that long ago..."

She sighed heavily, pressing a hand to her forehead. "I don't know if you were told, but… I was in a car accident and suffered a concussion. I developed post-concussion syndrome afterward. My memory has quite a few spots in it."

"O-Oh!" My eyes widened with surprise. "I'm so sorry… I'm glad you're okay!"

She managed to smile a little. "Thank you. But Haku—is that really all you have to go on? An _urban legend_?"

"Hey, it's better than nothing!" she retorted defensively. "And it's not like it hasn't happened before! There was that murder case here when our parents were kids, and that other idol related rumor surrounding the first Love Meets Bonds Festival."

"Oh?" Rui raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smile pulling at her lips. "So you _do_ pay attention to all this idol stuff."

Her cheeks blazed red and she glared. "S-Shut up! It's kinda hard not to when one of your best friends is the son of a famous ex-idol, and his idiotic older brother is one, too!"

"I cannot deny that Sora can be idiotic," she sighed. "But if this rumor is true… and Honoka listened to it..."

"That would explain why she killed herself, even though she didn't have depression?" I asked.

Rui nodded. "Precisely. I can't believe I'm actually considering this as a possibility."

"Hey, I thought you weren't supposed to think too much," Kohaku said. "Might 'hurt your brain' or something."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "You can't live life without thinking 'too much', Haku. And I'm not just going to sit back when there are suspicious events occurring." She looked over at me. "Sonomi—why did Hiro commit suicide? Do you know?"

"Well..." I winced. "He… was caught having a secret relationship with a girl. And, um… he kinda… got her pregnant… He was kicked out of Yuukan, and Sorata was appointed the new leader. But the backlash was too much… and he shot himself, leaving his fiancée and baby daughter behind."

Rui's eyes widened, and for the first time since this conversation started… she looked truly horrified.

"Guess that means you can't screw Narukami after all," Kohaku drawled snidely.

...Huh?

"W-What… ever gave you that _ludicrous_ idea?!" Despite already having a high-pitched voice, it cracked even _higher_ with her anger. "For god's sake, Haku! Get your damn head out of the gutter. We're having a serious conversation here."

"You didn't answer my question," Kohaku deadpanned.

"You didn't _ask_ a question!" Rui shouted in irritation. "I have absolutely _no_ interest in that!"

"Really?" Kohaku asked incredulously, tilting her head to the side. "You coulda fooled me."

"Ugh!" Rui picked up a pillow off the couch and smacked her sister with it. "Shut _up_!"

But Kohaku just burst out laughing, leaning to the side. "Pffft, you should see the look on your face! It's priceless!"

"Um…." I shifted awkwardly. "Can we get back on topic…?"

Scowling, Rui shoved the pillow at Kohaku before standing up straight again. "Right. This rumor… I think we should test it out."

"What, are you nuts?!" Kohaku demanded, jerking upright. "What if it _is_ real? What _then_ , huh? I'm not gonna just let myself go crazy and shoot myself in the head! You and Mom both have guns."

Rui sighed. "You don't have to do it, Haku. Same goes for you, Sonomi."

I shook my head. "No, I'm doing it, too!"

Kohaku gave us both disbelieving looks. "You're really that willing to take the risk? You don't care if you die?"

"It's not that I don't care if I die," Rui stated coolly. "But as a detective, I must take risks to find the truth. If this is really happening, I cannot let it continue, no matter what. And if something happens to me, then hopefully it will shed life on the truth."

Rui… really _was_ determined… I admired that so much.

But for me… I guess I was really indifferent about dying. Using an Evoker had never really been a problem for me, despite the fact that it was like shooting yourself in the head. And ignoring that, I wanted to find out if this rumor had any connections to Shadows, like the Midnight Channel ordeal I had heard so much about.

Though… speaking of using an Evoker being like shooting yourself in the head… I wonder if that had any connection to this rumor. I knew that, in the real world, in order to summon a Persona, you needed to "invoke a sense of terror," as Mitsuru-san explained it. You had to… accept death and knowing that you are mortal. I remembered the day Mitsuru-san explained Evokers to my cousin, friends, and me all too well.

Summoning a Persona was like killing yourself… and this rumor caused suicide as well. That couldn't be just a coincidence, could it?

"Guess nothing I say will stop you," Kohaku sighed, before standing up. "But I'm outta here. I don't wanna be around for something to try to kill me too."

"...Suit yourself," Rui muttered. "Dad said you have a tendency to disappear for whole nights."

She snorted. "That's 'cause I got better things to do than sleep in this house. And I swear to god, if you're not alive by the end of this, I'm gonna bring you back just to kill you myself."

Rui rolled her eyes. "I don't die easily. That should be evident enough. Our family is resilient."

I just hoped that this really did have to do with Shadows. I could fight Shadows with my Persona. But a real ghost? I didn't know if Personas could hurt something that was already dead.

But… we would find out soon enough.


	4. The Midnight Station

**RUI**

* * *

_Sunday, April 3rd, 2039, Rainy._

* * *

Rain softly pattered on the roof in the background as I sat up in my bedroom, on my bed, searching for information on my laptop. After hearing about this 'Midnight Station' from my sister and cousin, I was curious more about the origins of the rumor. I decided to see if I could find out anything about Hiro's death on the internet. Sonomi had gone back to her room, which she was sharing with Haku, to get some rest before midnight arrived.

I was grateful for one thing—school didn't start until Tuesday.

Did I find anything? Yes. I found more than I expected.

First of all, his full name was _Hiroyuki Mikami_. He had been twenty years old when he died, and would have turned twenty-one later this year. He was the youngest son of a former idol from before even my parents' youth. Apparently, that was the entire concept of Yuukan—children of idols from the past. At first, there had only been Sora, Hiroyuki, and another idol named Yoshi Mashita, the son of Kanami Mashita. Later on they were joined by Mamoru Nakahara, the son of Nozomi Nakahara, Hideaki Uesugi, the son of Tamami Uesugi, and Shigeo Sayama, the son of Tomoe Sayama. The latter was the youngest member.

I found an old photograph on one of the fan sites that had all of them together. It was the only one I could find. I assumed the others had all been deleted when he "betrayed" the fans. It showed the entire group together, probably at a photo shoot. Hiroyuki was in the front, with Sora on his right and Mashita on his left. Uesugi was on the other side of Sora, with Nakahara on the other side of Mashita. This had to be a couple of years old, because Sayama wasn't there. I was getting the impression that he had only joined recently—perhaps after Hiroyuki had been kicked out.

Sighing quietly, I continued to scroll down the page to see if there was anything else that could be useful. Seeing nothing that caught my eye, I scrolled back up to the menu bar. There had to be something here about Sora's hiatus, right? I wasn't sure if that would help solve the mystery, but… I was honestly curious. In a few moments, I found the link I was looking for and clicked on it.

Quickly skimming over the article, it confirmed my suspicions regarding Sora's hiatus. He had said he lost his voice, and while that _was_ true, there was more to it. The article did not directly state it, but it didn't need to. Other people probably wouldn't notice, but I was trained to pick up on these things. And keeping in mind what I knew from my interactions with Sora, I could put together a hypothesis.

Sora never mentioned Hiroyuki, and of course I didn't remember to ask. Iruka probably already brought it up to him when he first returned to Inaba. Sora had been here longer than me, after all. Anyone would avoid talking about something so tragic, but… his behavior regarding _us_ was puzzling. If Hiroyuki had his life ruined because of a secret relationship, why would Sora want to risk the same happening to him? Yes, since he was on hiatus, not all of the rules applied, but still. If he had any intention to return to showbiz, he could not pursue a relationship with me. Yet… that was what he was doing. He had outright flirted with me, and implied some… _suggestive_ activities.

...Sora was hiding something. Of that I was certain.

Grimacing, I placed a hand against the side of my head. I could feel a headache coming. That was enough thinking for today. I had a lot of questions to ask Sora tomorrow.

I looked down to check the time. Wow, it was already five minutes to midnight. It was time to go meet with Sonomi. Haku was the one who had a radio in her room, not me. After making sure my laptop was plugged in, I shut it down, and slid off my bed. Haku's room was the one to the left of mine, so I was there in a moment.

"Sonomi?" I called, knocking lightly on the door. "Are you prepared?"

A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing my cousin. "I'm ready."

Just like me, Sonomi hadn't changed out of her day clothes. She still had on a black sweater that hung loosely from her body, a ruffled blue mini skirt, black thigh high socks, and laced up ankle boots. Her wavy deep blue hair cascaded down to her waist, and her bangs were swept to the side, covering her right eye, and she wore a black headband with a large bow on top. Her earphones and mp3 player hung around her neck.

"Good," I said, pleased with her determination. "We still have some—wait, is that a _gun_?"

I had noticed that she was holding something in her hands that resembled a gun. But on closer inspection, I saw that it couldn't be a _real_ gun.

"H-Huh?" Sonomi's eyes widened. "O-Oh, um, it's-"

"Forget it," I said, waving her off. "You can tell me later. We can't waste time."

"Right..." She sighed softly before stepping back so I could go inside.

I shut the door behind me, since I didn't want the music to disturb my brother and grandmother. But jeez… Haku's room hadn't changed much. The only difference was that there were two futons next to the right and left walls. There were various posters depicting punk rock bands on the walls. A TV sat on a table pressed against the wall straight across from the doorway, and next to it was the radio. The walls were painted off white, and the floor was wooden. There wasn't much else for furniture—not even a desk, but that wasn't much of a surprise. The futon on the right, the one close to the door, was the one that Sonomi would use.

I realized the rain had started pouring harder. I could hear it pounding on the roof. Checking the clock, I saw that it was a minute to midnight. Sonomi had sat down on her futon, clutching the fake gun in her lap so tightly her knuckles were white, so I walked over to turn on the radio. A song was just finishing up.

" _Aaaand, ladies and gents, that's it for me tonight! The time is now midnight!"_

But instead of the DJ continuing, there was a loud static noise, which then turned to something that sounded like someone was tuning the radio. And then…

An eerie song began to play. The music was distorted; it didn't sound like regular notes. There were no synthetic alterations, such as dubstep, but it sounded very electronic. It definitely was nothing like the music I listened to.

But this song… was horrible. And I don't mean horrible as in _bad_. The music composition was good, and the lyrics were well written. The terrible part about it was the actual words being sung in the lyrics. I… was completely caught off guard.

The lyrics spoke of unimaginable pain and self hatred. They were angry and bitter, lashing out at the listener. This song… was Hiroyuki Mikami pouring out his feelings for everyone to hear. Just hearing this song could make anyone with depression want to kill themselves, so even if there was nothing supernatural related to this mystery, I wouldn't be surprised if it led to suicide. Besides, only people with no desire to live would willingly check out this rumor.

But I had been so focused on listening and analyzing the song that I hadn't been paying attention to my cousin.

"Turn it off turn it off turn it off!" she shrieked, keeling forward towards her knees and pressing her hands over her ears. "I don't want to hear it anymore! Make it _stop_!"

Not allowing my surprise to slow me down, I stepped closer to the radio and leaned down to turn it off. We were immediately plunged into silence. I turned back around to face my cousin. For a moment, I was at a loss for words. She was… crying, her hands still pressed to her ears, like she was still trying to block out the song.

"Sonomi..."

Perhaps she wasn't as together as she appeared to be…

"I… I'm sorry..." She sat up straight, and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "I… I just… didn't expect something like that..."

She was clearly hiding something, but I knew better than to press it. "Neither did I. There's no need to apologize."

Sonomi bit her bottom lip, and opening her mouth to say something, but quickly stopped herself. A strange… _guttural_ sound came out of nowhere. I frowned, feeling chills run down my spine. Even my hair had stood up on end. Something… was wrong. Something… was going to happen.

"N-No… T-That's..." My cousin's eyes had widened with pure horror, slowly but shakily reaching out for the fake gun that was resting on the futon next to her.

But then a large gaping hole ripped open in the ceiling, causing us both to freeze up.

It was like some sort of portal, like it had opened a hole in between the fabric of space and time. An eerie red light shone down from the pulsing hole. Inside it was a mix of crimson and black, pulsating gently in three different circles. Another insidious growl sounded from the portal. And a black claw slowly began to reach out, followed by a large, blob-like body.

What… _was_ that?

I was so fixated on the bizarre masked creature crawling out of the portal that I almost didn't notice my cousin's movements. There was a flash of silver that drew my attention away from the monstrosity. Sonomi had lifted the fake gun and pressed the barrel to her forehead. If I hadn't known it wasn't a real gun, I would have tried to stop her. Instead, I was confused.

I opened my mouth to say something, but never got the chance. The shadowy blob lunged at Sonomi, slashing forward with its claws. She squealed, dropping the fake gun and scrambling backwards, towards the wall. The gun hit the floor with such a force, it slid over to my feet.

"N-No! Get away from me!"

...I had to do something! That gun… it had to be some sort of device. Perhaps it was the way to defeat this creature. It seemed insane, but I had to try. So I crouched down, picked up the fake gun, and slowly lifted it. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I pressed the barrel to the side of my head, similar to how my cousin had.

She had to have done that for a reason. And seeing the monster making its way towards Sonomi, I knew I had to protect her somehow.

So I pulled the trigger.

I felt an impact, and my head jerked to side as I heard the sound of glass shattering. It felt like something was being pulled out of my very soul as a mysterious blue light.

_Thou art I… and I am thou._

_From the sea of thy soul, I come from thee._

_I am Hatshepsut, Queen of Egypt._

Startled by the voice inside my head, I almost didn't get the notion to look above me. My eyes widened in shock. Was I imagining things, or… No, this was most definitely real. There was some kind of… being hovering above me.

It appeared to be female, and towered above me, somehow fitting in the not so large room. She had long white hair that flowed up into the air, with two small midnight blue wings on the sides of her head, like hair clips, which sparked with electric blue lightning. A silver diadem rested on her forehead, right over blunt bangs that fell down to right above where her eyes should have been—which were only slits that glowed lavender. Her entire body was a deep shade of indigo.

She was wearing a white and lavender battle dress—it was strapless, the top resembling a loosely fitting bustier, with a sweetheart neckline that showed an ample amount of her chest. There was an outer part of the dress, which was white and covered the breastplate and went down the sides before flowing out into an elegant ruffled skirt that went down to the knees, covering the back, but only going down from the sides in the front, leaving open for a shorter skirt that was part of the inner lavender part of the dress. There was paler lavender cross stitching on the torso, and the skirt only went halfway down the thighs, lined with crystals. There was a sash loosely wrapped around the waist, inscribed with silver hieroglyphs depicting some sort of story. There were loose white sleeves that weren't attached to the dress, with silver bracelets securing them to her wrists, silver guards reaching up towards her shoulders, designed like lightning bolts, but keeping them bare. On her legs, she wore thigh high armored white stiletto boots, with silver heels that were higher than even mine.

_Hatshepsut_ … She came from me, didn't she? What _was_ this?

But I didn't get any time to ponder this, because she lunged forward towards the monster. I felt a crackle in the air, and the next I knew, she had zapped the monster with a weak bolt of lightning. The creature shrieked, exploding into a cloud of black dust.

I just… stared in shock. But Sonomi stared back at me, her eyes wide, filled with too many emotions to process.

"Y-You just… summoned a Persona..."

A… Persona? Was that what that being was?

I gasped, dropping the gun and reaching up to press my fingers to the sides of my head as a familiar piercing pain pierced through my skull. Dammit… I… had used too much mental…

I couldn't even finish that thought before I blacked out.

* * *

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

I found myself in that place again—the plane that was covered completely with blue. I glanced around, feeling a bit disoriented and confused. I thought that had been just a dream, yet here I was again, and it wasn't quite repeating.

What… was going on?

The white-haired girl, Safie, giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "You look confused. We already told you this isn't a dream~!"

That really didn't answer my silent question.

"It seems you have awakened to your power," Igor mused, an amused smile forming on his thin lips. "And a unique power it is. It is like the number zero—empty, but containing infinite possibilities."

That was when it hit me. This power he was speaking of… It had to be that being that I summoned from what I believed was my soul—what Sonomi had called a _Persona_.

"...Persona?" I inquired after a pause.

Igor nodded. "It appears that the Persona Hatshepsut has answered your call. Very fitting, might I add. But there is more to your power than one Persona."

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning in puzzlement.

"You possess a unique ability known as the _Wild Card_ ," he stated. "Inside you, there is a possibility of wielding more than one hundred Personas."

My eyes widened in shock. I… had _that_ much power? _Me_?

"It runs in your family, too!" Safie exclaimed cheerfully. "Your uncle, your aunt, even your cous-" Igor gave her a stern look, and she cut herself off. "Oh, um, never mind!"

Had she been about to say _cousin_ …? Hm… I was not the only one, then.

"You are also acquainted with two previous guests of ours that do not share a relation with you," Igor continued. "But that is of no matter. You are our current guest now, and we will do our best to assist you in utilizing your power."

This was quite the development… I hadn't expected this at all. Personas… those monsters… that song somehow summoning them. The device that called out my Persona resembled a gun, and the victims of the song appeared like they had shot themselves. Everything was connected in some way. This could not be a coincidence. I had been chosen to solve some sort of mystery…

Something rotten was in the town of Inaba.

"I see," I said, all of these thoughts churning in my mind. "How exactly will you be assisting me?"

"The Velvet Room has several different functions," Igor replied. "But my duty here is to create new Personas through fusion. I shall explain the details some other time, when you come here of your own accord."

"I'll tell you about my job later, too!" Safie exclaimed, still smiling cheerfully.

"Please take this," Igor said, holding out something to me.

It was a key that gleamed as blue as our surroundings. I accepted it from him. It felt cool to the touch. I slipped it into one of my pockets, wondering how I would have it in the real world.

"Time marches on in your world," he said. "I have kept you long enough. Use that key to return here of you own accord."

"I can't wait to see you again!" Safie giggled, before waving. "Bye-bye!"

And that was when everything faded away.

* * *

_Monday, April 4th, 2039, Rainy._

* * *

Light began to burn through my eyelids. I had finally come to, it seemed, after another one of those bizarre dreams… that wasn't actually a dream. I slowly opened my eyes, wincing as the bright light hurt my eyes and sent another pain through my skull. I found myself looking up at a white ceiling. Wait… was I in a hospital? I could hear the beeping of a machine, and turning my head to the side, I could confirm that, along with…

"Rui! You're awake!" Sora exclaimed with relief from where he was sitting in a chair beside the bed. "Thank god… You had us seriously worried!"

"...Sora…?" I was a bit surprised that he had been allowed in here. "What are you doing here?"

"W-Well..." He glanced down, his cheeks tinting pink. "I… I was worried about you, okay?!" He looked back up, meeting my gaze. "Sonomi said you passed out! And then you wouldn't wake up! You really need to stop pushing yourself so hard, Rui!"

I grimaced, closing my eyes as his loud voice added to an impending headache. "Sora… please calm down. I'm fine."

"You don't _look_ fine."

...Well, I couldn't deny that, could I?

Sighing, I opened my eyes. "I know, I know. You don't have to remind me that I'm in a hospital."

He didn't say anything for a moment, looking away again, and that was when I noticed his hands were clenched into tight fists. "You… scared me, Rui. It… was like the crash all over again. I thought… I thought I was gonna-" He cut himself off. "N… Never mind."

"Sora..."

Looking at me again, he cracked a smile. "Forget about it."

I knew I needed to take it easy, but just _hearing_ him say that… pissed me the hell off. After everything I had discovered, there was no way I could just let it go. As a detective, I strove to find out the truth. As a friend, I strove to be there for my friends. I had been gone for so long, I could not slack in that department.

"...Sora. Tell me." My voice was quiet, but clear. "Hiroyuki Mikami. What was he to you?"

"H-Huh?" Sora's eyes widened with surprise. "What… does he have to do with anything?"

Well, considering that the rumor that placed me in this hospital was centered around him, he had to do with everything, but I would keep that to myself for now. "Just answer the question."

He sighed wearily. "Hiroyuki was my senpai. He was the leader of my group before me. I'm the idol I am today because of him. I admired him so much."

It… was just as I feared.

"Sora," I said, still quiet, "if Hiroyuki meant so much to you, then why do you wish to travel down the same path as him?"

"W-What?" His eyes widened again. "What are you talking about?"

I sighed this time. "Hiroyuki was banished from Yuukan because he was caught in a relationship with a girl. Then it was discovered that she was pregnant. Do you truly wish to be ostracized in the same way, Sora?"

He stared at me in horror, but the words that came out of his mouth were not what I was expecting. "Y-You… You think you'll get knocked up?"

Was he serious?! Not this again! Why the hell was everyone so obsessed with sex? If I had the energy, I would have sat up and smacked him upside his head.

"...That's not what I meant."

"Oh, uh… sorry." He let out a nervous laugh. "But we won't end up like that, Rui! I mean, my parents got away with it for years!"

...He was in so much denial, it was painfully obvious.

"Sora," I sighed. "I can't allow you to take such a risk. If you were shunned like Hiroyuki… I could never forgive myself. I'm sorry, but as long as you may return to showbiz, we can't be together."

For a moment, there was silence. But then he just nodded… and stood up from his chair.

"Yeah… I figured as much. I won't bother you anymore. I'll let everyone know you're awake."

I opened my mouth to protest, but there was no point. He left the room, the door clicking shut behind him. I just laid there for a few moments, trying to process what had just happened.

I had just… wanted to _protect_ him from ruining his entire life… I didn't want him… to even come close to being pushed to the same extreme as his senpai… Of course it hurt me, to have to give up on ever having a romantic relationship with him when my feelings were still so strong…

I just… wanted things to go back to normal, to how they were before we went our separate ways. Before Sora showed me the song he wrote about me. Before he kissed me. Back when we were just best friends.

But it was too late. That much was obvious.

I just needed to recover and return to work as soon as possible.

* * *

It wasn't long before a doctor came in to check on me. I was given the clear, but told to rest and not do anything that would cause stress to my mental functions. Considering all the mysteries that had surfaced, that would be a feat in itself to resist the urge to look into them… But I had to follow the doctor's orders, lest I do something worse to myself than before.

But as soon as I saw my mother, I could feel some tension. She knew the truth, didn't she? Sonomi must have told her the real story. I could sense an impending lecture. And lo and behold, as soon as we got home, she said she wanted to speak with Sonomi and me alone. Moments later, the two of us were sitting at the dining table, with my mother standing in front of us, arms crossed, while everyone else was upstairs. I had noticed that my sister wasn't home.

"There is a lot I want to say," Mom began, her voice hard with sternness. "But I'll start with something simple: What were you two _thinking_?"

Sonomi visibly flinched, sinking into her seat. "U-Um..."

I sighed. "It was my idea, Mom. Sonomi just didn't want me to be alone."

It was a bit of a stretch of the truth, but what Mom didn't know wouldn't hurt her. I didn't want my cousin to get in trouble after she had just gotten here.

Mom sighed heavily, pressing a hand to her forehead. "Of course it was. You really take after me when it comes to not being able to ignore a mystery." She let her arm fall back down to her side. "Sonomi told me you awakened to your Persona. I never considered the possibility that having the potential could be genetic."

So my hypothesis was correct. My parents possessed Personas as well. It ran in our family—on _both_ sides. This was a most interesting development.

"Rui protected me," Sonomi said quietly, tucking in her chin, which made her bangs cover nearly her entire face. "I… I was gonna summon my Persona, but it caught me off guard, and..."

"Sonomi, you don't have to repeat it," Mom said gently. "We already went over this with Yukari."

"R-Right… Sorry."

Mom returned her attention to me. "Do you remember the serial murder and kidnapping case back in 2011?"

I nodded. "Of course. What about it?"

"It involved Personas." She continued on to explain to me the exact details of the case. She told me about the Midnight Channel, and how Tohru Adachi fooled Taro Namatame into believing that the people who appeared on that needed to be rescued by being thrown into the TV. She told be about how Yu would lead everyone into the TV World to rescue the kidnapping victims. And then there were the supernatural beings… It was almost impossible to believe.

"My parents and their friends had their own incident back in 2009," Sonomi said quietly once she had finished. "My dad… The reason he died… is because he sacrificed himself to seal away Nyx. But that's a story for another time, I guess."

So my uncle's death was also connected to these Personas and the monsters they called _Shadows_. Part of me was not surprised. There was so much about my family that I never knew… I wondered how many other secrets they had been keeping.

"Something is happening here again, I take it," I said, returning my attention to my mother.

Mom grimaced, but nodded. "It appears that way. Normally, I would never disclose information regarding a case, but the circumstances dictate otherwise."

I braced myself for the incoming information.

"All across the nation, there have been numerous cases of suicides that do not make sense," Mom began grimly. "People who have shown absolutely no signs of depression, whether hidden or public knowledge, have killed themselves. The suicides take place at the same time every night—at around midnight—and all by the same method—a gunshot to the head."

Sonomi's eyes widened with horror. "T-This… is really a thing?"

"Honoka's death was only one of at least a hundred," Mom continued. "None of the suicides make sense. There are no notes left behind. The victims don't have a history of depression or self harm. There are literally no signs that they may need help. And they all share one thing in common."

"An interest in the Midnight Station," I stated, making an assumption.

Mom nodded. "Yes. Friends and family all have said that the victims had been talking about the urban legend for days preceding their deaths. And the nights they died… they stated that they would be checking out the rumor."

Sonomi shivered. "It's so scary..."

"And you believe that this Midnight Station is connected to Shadows," I clarified. "Sonomi and I being attacked by such a creature confirms this, yes?"

Mom didn't respond right way. Instead, she walked over to the table, and reached for a briefcase that had been sitting on the counter top. Without a single word yet, she unlatched and opened it. Inside was a fake gun similar to the one that my cousin had had—except the letters _S-E-E-S_ were missing. She lifted it out of the container.

"This is an Evoker," she said, turning to face me. "They are used to summon Personas in the real world. After some discussion, it was decided that it would be best if you were given one, just in case something happens. You need to be able to defend yourself."

For a moment, all I did was stare at the fake gun—the _Evoker_ , as she had called it.

Personas, Shadows, the Velvet Room, the Wild Card ability… All of that had to do with this Midnight Station thing. That much was certain. For some reason, I had been chosen… and given this power. I had to use it to solve this mystery… and protect Inaba like my parents had done before me. They had done their job already—it was _our_ turn now.

So I nodded and took the Evoker from her. "I understand."

"U-Um..." Sonomi looked up at me nervously. "You probably figured it out a while ago, but I can use a Persona, too. But… my mom doesn't want me fighting. But if something happens, I can still support you! My, um, Persona has some scanning abilities."

"I would say hopefully it doesn't come to that, but I have a feeling it will," Mom sighed. "I'm sorry to burden you with this, when you came home to recover."

"It's fine, Mom," I said, shaking my head. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. It's not like I'm alone. I have Sonomi to watch out for me."

"H-Huh?" Sonomi's eyes widened. "Oh, um, o-of course! Psykhe and I will do what we can to help!"

So her Persona was named _Psykhe…_ I made a mental note of that.

I gave her a smile. "Thank you, Sonomi. I appreciate it."

A faint blush tinted her cheeks, but she smiled too, and nodded. "I'll do my best."

* * *

The rest of the day, I mainly spent in my room resting and researching into what my mother had told me about the mass suicides. Mom had also given me two holsters—a white one for my Evoker, and a black one for my real gun. I remembered how difficult it had been for Mom to get me that gun, but it had been important to her for me to have one for a means of self defense.

But the entire case—or at least what I had found out online—was extremely baffling. It truly did not make any sense. People were confused and scared. No one knew what was going on. Some were already calling it a government conspiracy. Just trying to think about it gave me a headache.

Checking the time, I saw that it was past twelve fifteen. Considering that I was starting my first day of high school tomorrow, I decided it would be best to get some sleep. After shutting off my laptop and putting it down on my desk, I went to go change into my pajamas, only for my cell phone to vibrate loudly. Frowning, I moved back to check it. Furthering my confusion further, I saw that it was Haruto, Sora's younger brother.

Not wasting another second, I answered the call. "Hello?"

" _Oh,_ _Rui-san,_ _I'm glad you picked up!"_ Haruto sounded relieved on the other end. _"_ _Do you know where Aniki is? I can't find him anywhere in the house, so I thought he might be with you."_

For a moment, I didn't respond. "...Why would you automatically assume that he'd be here with me this late at—you know what, forget it. No, I don't know where your brother is. He's definitely not here with me."

" _Uh…_ _sorry?"_ He sounded nervous. _"I just assumed because—well, you know why. But if Aniki isn't with you, and he's not in the house… he's missing, Rui-san."_

I pressed a hand to my temple. "Wonderful. Do you have any idea of where he could have gone?"

Knowing that I had hurt his feelings earlier did not make me feel any better about this. Words could not describe how much Sora meant to me, even if it didn't seem like it at times. I had just wanted to protect him from his own impulsiveness—not that I was perfect in that department myself. I just… wanted to do what was best for him, but now he had _disappeared_.

" _I don't know,"_ Haruto sighed. _"Earlier, at the hospital, we were talking with everyone, and Akemi-san brought up this urban legend—you know how she loves horror—and it really seemed to freak Aniki out. Especially since it had to do with his senpai… He said he was going to listen to it to see if it was real, but I didn't think he was serious… What… What if that's why he's missing?!"_

...Shit.

"Haruto, stay calm," I said, somehow managing to keep my voice steady. "Are you absolutely sure he said he was going to try the Midnight Station?"

" _Rui-san, are you saying that the rumor is-"_

"Never mind that," I interrupted. "Do you think he could have gone to the riverbank? I remember we went there often as kids."

But right as I asked that, something caught my attention. One of my walls… just… opened up into a doorway. Space seemed to be distorted where the wall met the swirling red and black portal. The colors slowly whirled in a vortex, just like the portal that had opened up yesterday. But unlike yesterday, no Shadows were emerging.

" _I don't know,"_ I vaguely heard Haruto say. _"Maybe? You're not going to actually go there, are you? It's super late, and it's still raining!"_

"Don't worry about me," I said, keeping my eyes on the swirling doorway. "I'll find Sora. No matter what."

I hung up right at that moment, not giving him a chance to say anything else. I set my phone back down on the nightstand, and rushed over to get my gear—the holsters, Evoker, and gun. It probably would be a good idea to bring the gun, just in case.

I needed to hurry! Not a moment could be wasted if Sora was in danger. That portal had opened for a reason. It was like wherever that place the Shadow had come from was asking me to step inside and do something. And I would do exactly that.

Once I had attached both holsters around my waist—the one with the Evoker on my right, as I was right-handed, and the one with the gun on the left—I took a deep breath to steady myself before slowly walking up to the doorway.

There were so many questions racing through my mind. Was Sora even in there? How would we get out? What was even beyond that swirling vortex? Was I walking into one huge trap? What was waiting for me?

But… there was no time for second thoughts. I had to save Sora no matter what.

I stepped through the portal.


	5. Shadow, the True Self

**RUI**

* * *

_Tuesday, April 5th, 2039, Rainy._

* * *

I stepped out into a vast open space, and all I could see was red. The entire area was colored in various shades of crimson—from the rough dirt at my feet, to the sky above. The eeriest part was the eclipse of the sun in the sky. It totally blocked out the sun, casting a blood red light down on everything. I shivered, feeling a constant breeze tugging at my hair, and noticed that I was on a riverbank. And not just any riverbank…

I knew the Samegawa River anywhere. But this Samegawa… its waters were a dark shade of red… like glittering garnets. It frothed against the sandy banks, slowly flowing along. There wasn't a sound. It felt… _heavy_ here. My entire body was tense. I decided to keep my hand on my Evoker just in case.

I had to find Sora in all of this somehow…

So I began to walk, following the river. And the further I went, the more I realized this place seriously resembled the Samegawa Floodplain. In fact, it looked exactly the same, just cast in the red light. It unsettled me greatly. Just what _was_ this place? Why was it like an evil copy of my hometown?

I had been walking for maybe ten minutes when I noticed something had changed. So far, I had seen nothing other than the eclipsed sun, the blood red sky, red dirt, and dark crimson river. But now… some sort of… building had appeared to the right of the river, on the side I was on. Frowning, I approached the building, and getting a closer look, I saw that it was actually the entrance to a stage. In big, flashing red letters was _MARUKYU STAGE_.

This was definitely _not_ in Inaba.

Marukyu was the tofu shop that Sora's great grandmother ran, with the help of his older sister Yuina, when she wasn't busy studying, as she was a university student. This could not be a coincidence… I had yet to see any sign of Sora in this place, but I had found this arena. I had to investigate. Hopefully he would be there, and we could get out of this creepy place.

Still keeping my hand on my Evoker, I headed towards the entrance, and went inside. I had to walk down this hallway… and what lined the walls… sent _chills_ down my spine. There were flashing pictures of Sora that looked like the came straight out of pinup book—but did male idols even _make_ pinup books? This whole place was so bizarre already.

But if it was connected to Personas… which came from the mind… then perhaps this place was the manifestation of Sora's inner thoughts. No one had quite clarified to me what a Shadow was, but if Shadows also came from this place, then they must have a connection to Personas and the human mind. What all this meant… I had no idea. But I could figure all of that later, once I had rescued Sora and got him back to our world safe and sound.

...Though, deep down, I had a gut feeling… that this place _was_ our world somehow.

Picking up my pace, I rushed down the rest of the hallway to burst out into the open, only to find myself right on the stage, which was even weirder. It was very elaborate—ostentatious to a fault, with gaudy flashing lights, almost blinding to look at. The most disturbing part of the whole thing was the flashing red figure of Sora himself, doing one of those vulgar hip thrusting dance movements that made girls go wild because it was so sexual in nature. It still astounded me how all my generation could think about half the time was getting into someone's pants. But I pushed all that to the back of my mind once I spotted the person I was searching for.

"Sora!" I called, rushing towards him.

"R-Rui?!" He whipped around, his eyes widening in shock. "What are you doing here?!"

"What am _I_ doing here? What are _you_ doing here?!" I demanded, trying to hold back my anger as much as possible. "You listened to the Midnight Station, didn't you?! You haven't been hurt, have you?"

"Huh? No, I'm..." He sighed, lowering his head. "I'm fine. Nothing bad has happened. Well, other than that weird ass portal that opened up and sucked me in after I listened to that song..."

...Okay, that was a lot different from what had happened to Sonomi and me. What was the difference? Why did Sora trigger a different response?

"And then you found yourself here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He winced, but nodded. "Yeah… This place gives me the creeps. Did you see all those pictures of me? I swear I never took those. This is seriously some sick joke. First the song from Hiro-senpai, and now _this_? If someone's got a problem with me, they should just come out and say it and not play these stupid games!"

With each word, he became angrier and angrier. His face darkened into a scowl, and even his eyes lost their warmth, hardening into a harsh shade of brown. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if I saw it actually radiating off of him. Sora truly did care for Hiroyuki… It must have hurt him so terribly to hear that song… I honestly was at loss of what to say.

_"Oh, I've got something to say all right."_

We both froze. That… voice… It sounded… exactly like Sora's… except distorted and mottled into an eerie, almost monstrous tone. Sora's eyes had widened wide as saucers, and all the color drained from his face. Slowly, we both turned to face whoever had spoken.

And it was… _Sora_.

Or at least, another _version_ of Sora. He casually sauntered up to us, a garish smirk splitting his face into a hideous expression that I never wanted to see again. He was wearing what I believed was his idol costume—a bright red military style uniform, decked out with enough stars to be a general. That was Yuukan's theme after all: heroes. And what better way to show a hero than have him wear a military uniform? But the most unsettling thing about this other Sora was the fact that his eyes were a bright gold color, a stark contrast to his real eyes.

"You… You look like me!" Sora exclaimed in shock. "What the _hell_?! Who do you think you _are_?! This isn't funny!"

The other Sora just laughed, his smirk widening. _"Aw, you think this is a joke? I don't have the time to mess with a pathetic loser like you."_

Sora's hands clenched into fists at his sides. "I'm not a loser."

" _Oh, but isn't that what I think?"_ Other Sora widened his eyes in mock surprise. _"I mean, honestly… I don't even belong on stage."_

He was talking like he _was_ Sora… like he knew Sora's every feeling and thought… I could feel even more chills running down my spine. I wanted to do something, to reach out and touch Sora, to reassure him that he was not alone here, but… that was probably a bad idea.

" _Sorata, Sorata, Sorata… That's all people care about."_ Other Sora's face scrunched up in disgust. _"It was my dream to become an idol. I wanted to be like my mom. I wanted to share my love of music with others! I wanted to share my feelings with them! What a joke, right? Takura Productions… as soon as they saw me, they knew exactly what my idol angle would be—the Casanova! The ladykiller! The hot_ stud _. The one all the girls will drool over. The_ sexy _one. But that was nothing like the real me."_

Sora scowled, and I noticed that his knuckles had begun to turn white. "How the hell do you _know_ this?"

He laughed—a loud, creepy chortle that made me feel sick to my stomach. _"_ _The whole sexy angle is so stupid, though. I mean… idols can't even date! And part of the image I have to give off is that I'm sooooo experienced! But…_ newsflash _. I'm a_ virgin _. Just like every other idol. It's kinda in the job description. But when you're a guy and you're a virgin, the perception is so much different than if you're a girl. And that. Fucking. Sucks."_

...Again with the sex? Could I go a day without hearing about it? Apparently not.

" _And then there's what happened to Hiro-senpai,"_ the other Sora sighed dramatically. _"He got the courage to say 'screw the system' and look where that got him… But it's sure as hell better to be dead than to suffer through all the bullshit from so called former 'fans' the rest of your life._ _He hid it so well, nobody had any idea. But at least he's not suffering anymore._ _"_

Sora squeezed his eyes shut. "Shut up! That's _not_ what I think of Senpai..."

" _But what I really wanna say about the whole thing..."_ Other Sora's lips pulled back into a horrific sneer. _"I wish it would happen to me."_

Sora's eyes shot open. "W-What? No way!"

" _And what a better person to help me get there than my beloved Rui-chan?"_ he laughed.

...What? Sora… he… He wanted to die… and he was going to use our potential relationship, regardless of the fact that it would ruin me as well, to ruin his life? I couldn't believe I hadn't caught onto this… I knew he was hiding something from me, but I thought I had figured it out. Maybe… I didn't know Sora as well as I thought… or maybe… we both had changed more drastically than I had imagined.

"Sora..." I looked up at him in shock.

He appeared to be just as horrified, but her refused to look at me. "That's… That's not true! I would _never_ do that to anyone, much less _Rui_!"

Other Sora snickered, rolling his eyes. _"That's not even the best part!_ _The truth is… when I first became an idol, I was really overwhelmed. It was so different, and even with Inoue-san as my manager, it was frightening. But the scariest part…_ _was me realizing that a lot of the guys in the agency… were…_ attractive _."_

...Wait, what? Was I seriously hearing this right?

" _When I first met Hiro-senpai and Yoshi,_ _I was super nervous. I knew we were going to be in a group_ _together, and I had met Yoshi before, since our moms are friends, but it had been such a long time."_ Other Sora closed his eyes. _"Hiro-senpai… was super nice. He was definitely leader material. I began to admire him so quickly… and the next thing I knew, I realized I had a crush on him."_

That… was not what I had expected. At all. Sora had romantic feelings for Hiroyuki? I supposed I shouldn't be surprised… After all, we had been apart for three years. And falling for someone wasn't exactly something you could _control_.

But Sora's reaction to this confession was far from pleasant.

"No, that's not—shut _up_!" Sora shook his head adamantly, taking a few steps back. "I'm not _like_ that!"

" _Hiroyuki was the best,"_ Other Sora continued, completely ignoring his outburst. _"_ _Smart, handsome, talented. He had the best voice hands down._ _But it confused me so much… Was it because I was around guys so much? Was I not seeing enough girls? Or maybe… I never actually did have a crush on Rui-chan."_

...Okay, so I really hadn't been expecting that.

" _Hiroyuki was the best,"_ Other Sora said again, a dangerous edge to his voice, speaking before Sora could get a word out. _"I never was supposed to become the leader._ _When he was kicked out of the group, I worked my ass off… I did more interviews, more shows, more photo shoots, more recordings, more dance_ _training_ _—more than everyone combined._ _But then… I lost my voice. I was supposed to record some songs, but suddenly, I couldn't sing."_

Sora… truly did burn himself out, didn't he? He remained silent this time, but his body was tense. I sense an impending outburst. There was no way he could just be taking this without breaking. Honestly, I could barely hear it myself without feeling extremely upset. To think that one of the people most important to me was hurting so much…

" _Without my voice… I'm nothing."_ The other Sora's voice was now hollow, a shadow of its cocky tone earlier. _"All I am is a pretty face. The only thing I'm good for is to be eye candy for Yuukan's fans._ _Writing songs isn't fun anymore. My guitar is collecting dust. There's no point for me to exist, is there? No one cares about Sora. Sora is useless. Sorata is the only one that matters, and I can't even be him anymore. I should just_ die _. I want to die so_ bad _."_

"S-Stop it..." Sora's voice cracked, his body still rigid. "None of that is true. Stop talking like you're me!"

" _Aw..."_ Other Sora pouted. _"But that's the thing, Sora—I_ am _you."_

Wait a second… _shadow_...? Could people have Shadows? This other Sora claimed to be the same as him, and knew things about him no one else knew… Could this possibly be his-

"N-No..." Sora's shaky protest pulled me out of my thoughts. "You're… YOU'RE NOT ME!"

Creepy laughter sounded around us as a dark energy began to surround Sora's Shadow. _"_ _Heheheh_ _…_ _AHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's_ exactly _what I wanted to hear!"_

I opened my mouth to tell Sora to get back as I took out my Evoker, but it was too late. The Shadow exploded with the energy, sending out a shock wave that knocked Sora back a few meters. I barely was able to stay on my feet myself, almost losing my grip on my Evoker. As the shadowy shock wave cleared, I saw the monstrosity that loomed before me.

It was ginormous—at least four times the size of the blob Shadow I had encountered with Sonomi. Towering above, it reminded me of a satyr (or maybe a faun?), with a bare, muscular upper body, and the legs of a goat. Its skin was black, but its fur was the same blood red as the sky above us. Curly hair of the same color covered its head, which was topped with two massive horns that curled in, appearing to be made of pure ebony. Its eyes seemed to be sewn shut, and its hands were at least twice the size of what they should have been. It was honestly utterly hideous.

A vicious snarl erupted from the Shadow as it stretched its enormous body. _"I AM A SHADOW, THE TRUE SELF._ _YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND MY PAIN? LET ME SHOW YOU."_

I barely was able to leap back as the Shadow swung its massive fists at me. They slammed into the floor where I had been standing, causing the whole stage to shake, and I nearly lost my balance. Shadow Sora snarled again, lifting its hands up again.

" _STOP RUNNING AWAY!"_ it growled.

Running… away?

But I didn't even get a chance to dwell on that, as the Shadow lunged at me again. This time, its fists were coated in flames. I tried to get out of the way again, but the moment I faltered at its words slowed me down. Its fiery claws slashed at my side, and a horrible pain I hadn't experienced since the accident erupted through my body. I was knocked down to the ground, but managing to somehow keep my hold on my Evoker, I pushed through the agony and quickly lifted it to my head before the Shadow could hit me again.

"Persona," I got out, squeezing my eyes shut as I pulled the trigger.

The impact jolted my head back, and I heard the shattering of glass, just like before. I opened my eyes just in time to see Hatshepsut, my Persona, pushing Sora's Shadow back, before holding out one of her hands and launching another weak bolt of electricity at it. A word immediately formed in my mind as I jerked upright.

_Z_ _io_.

The Shadow roared in pain, before falling flat on its back. My eyes widened for a moment as it hit me—if you were attacked by your weakness, you got knocked down. That _had_ to be it! So I was weak to fire, and Sora must be weak to lightning. I needed to attack again before it could get back up!

But before I could even get back on my feet, Hatshepsut held her hand out towards the Shadow again, and zapped it with lightning, causing it to shriek in pain again. I didn't have to issue a command or anything—it was as if my Persona was directly connected to my mind… which made perfect sense, considering what Igor had said. All I had to do was think, and my Persona would do it.

That simplified things _so_ much.

Shadow Sora still was down, not budging an inch, so I thought that word again— _Zio_.

Hatshepsut lunged forward, moving closer before sending another bolt of lightning at the fallen Shadow. Its wail this time sent chills down my spine. Oh, I hoped this wasn't actually _hurting_ Sora. But… if I destroyed his Shadow, what would happen to him? Would that unleash his own Persona? No matter how uncertain all of this was…

I had to take the risk. If I did not destroy this Shadow, it would kill the both of us for sure.

But then my Persona suddenly backed up, moving closer to me, and I realized that Sora's Shadow was getting up. My body tensed immediately, and I quickly slipped my Evoker back into its holster before taking out my pistol, just to be safe.

Shadow Sora stumbled to its feet, slumping forward slightly as if it was difficult to stand completely upright. _"YOU_ _JUST WANT TO KEEP ON HURTING ME, HUH? WELL, TWO CAN PLAY AT THAT GAME!"_

W-What? That was-

Even though I was not thinking of defending myself, my Persona acted accordingly. It was as if it took my mind's defensive reflex towards the Shadow's words in the same way. Hatshepsut got between Shadow Sora and me, blocking its incoming attack. But despite not getting directly hit, I could feel the pain of holding the beast back. I could feel my energy _draining_.

I had to end this— _fast_. Before anyone else got hurt…

Hatshepsut's reaction to my inner anguish was to launch another blast of lightning at Sora's Shadow. It howled as it was knocked down on its back, electricity crackling around its massive body this time. Was it… paralyzed?

Hatshepsut rose higher up into the air, and lifted both of her hands towards the sky. A different word formed in my mind.

_Mudo_.

A strange black arcane circle formed on the ground around the Shadow, like it was encasing it in magic. But I didn't get another second to question what my Persona was doing, because the circle enclosed in on Shadow Sora. My eyes widened in shock as it shrieked in pure agony, before exploding into a massive shadowy blob of energy that faded away. And when that cleared, I saw its human form… just standing there.

Did I… defeat it? It wasn't doing anything, so… I called backed my Persona, and returned my gun to its holster. I could actually feel her returning to my soul. It was so bizarre, but so amazing at the same time.

...Wait, Sora!

I whipped around to see that he was stirring… He must have been knocked unconscious when his Shadow threw him back. I hoped he was all right. Not wasting any more time, I pushed back my exhaustion and rushed to his side.

"Sora!" I exclaimed, immediately crouching down in front of him. "Are you okay?!"

"H-Huh…?" He looked up at me, and then his eyes widened. "Rui… that thing… You saw-"

I sighed. "Yes. I saw."

"You saw..." He glanced down. "Everything."

"...Yes."

He started to push himself up, so I quickly stood back up myself to move out of the way. I quickly looked over him, checking for any injuries, as he rubbed his face. Oh, thank goodness… There was no physical damage, at least. He looked fine. Not even a scratch.

I watched Sora carefully as he stayed silent, looking over at where his Shadow was just standing there. I wanted to say something, to tell him that it was okay—but I had a feeling it would be better if he could just accept it on his own without any outside interference.

_Acceptance_ … that was the key, wasn't it?

He suddenly moved, walking over to where the other version of himself was standing. I quickly followed, even though my legs were honestly beginning to feel like jelly. I had worn myself out more than I had originally thought…

Sora stopped right in front of his Shadow self. Still, it did nothing. It just stared directly ahead, not blinking. It was an unnerving sight.

"...Yeah." His voice was quiet, but clear. "All of that… All of that's me. You're… _me_. I'm you. There's… no denying it. I can't run away from the feelings I've been trying to hide all this time. Not anymore."

Shadow Sora… smiled… and nodded. And suddenly, he began to glow, before disappearing into a flash of light, and reforming as… as Sora's… _Persona_.

While his Shadow had been thoroughly disturbing, Sora's Persona was far from that. It was… interesting, to put it simply. But I believe I understood why it manifested in such a form… and it was saddening.

The Persona towered above even higher than my own, and a stream of flames flowed out from his shoulders, billowing like a cape. But the most striking part about him was the fact that he looked like he was made entirely of mechanical parts—as in, he was a _robot_. His metal was a brilliant shade of crimson, and his body was shaped very humanoid, but still distinctly _not_ human. A black inscription of an ankh—the Egyptian symbol for life—was engraved into his barrel chest. Faint embers sparked at his joints, adding even more to the already fiery display. One thing that was a bit eerie was the fact that the robot's head had no face; it was merely blank, without eyes, a nose, or a mouth. But regardless, the Persona looked very powerful.

_Thou art I… and I am thou…_

_By facing thyself, thou have found thy true strength._

_I am Heka,_ _Activator of the Ka._

The Persona glowed again, flashing with a bright blue light, before transforming into a tarot card and flowing into Sora's body, encasing him with the very same light. But as soon as it faded away, Sora collapsed to his knees. On reflex, I dropped down to my knees as well and grabbed him by the shoulders to steady him.

"Sora, we need to get you out of here," I said.

"Ugh… I know, but..." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I need to… _tell_ you."

"Tell me what?" I asked, confused on what he had to say that I didn't already know at this point.

"Everything," he sighed, reopening his eyes and meeting my gaze. "I have to tell _someone_. I can't just keep on holding it inside me..."

As much as I wanted to get him out of this place… I understood. I knew that feeling all too well… Holding things within, being unable to tell _anyone_ , leaving it inside of you to fester and mutate into something much, much worse. _That_ … I understood. So I released his shoulders, and sat back on my knees. I couldn't deny him that…

"All right. I'm here to listen."

Sora squeezed his eyes shut again, and I realized he was… shaking. Well, all of this… had to be traumatic. I myself was exhausted, and my head felt like it had been split open, but I had to stay here—I _had_ to let him speak and let it all out.

I… didn't want Sora to suffer anymore.

"Everything it said… was true." His voice trembled as he spoke. "I didn't want to admit it, and I sure as hell didn't want to _accept_ it… I've always felt like the oddball in the family—the black sheep, you know? Ryuu is good at pretty much everything, and he's studying acting at university. Nee-san—Yuina, I mean—is also super talented, but even she decided to stay close to home and help our great grandma at Marukyu. Then there's Haru… Everybody loves him no matter what he does. And Kotone—she's the baby, and you know how _that_ goes."

I bit my bottom lip, fighting the urge to say something. I needed to just let him talk and get it all out. Then I could say something.

"And then there's me..." He sighed, glancing down. "Sora, the only one who gets into music. Ryuu always gave me hell for it. Called me a 'mama's boy'. I'm not really good at anything else, not like my brothers and sister. Kotone's too young to tell, but I get the feeling she's gonna take after Dad and be good at everything too. Rui, you..." He looked at me again. "You were one of the few people to actually encourage me about my music. Mom and Dad did, of course, and so did Nee-san—but that was it, really. It… made me so happy when you told me you thought I'd make an awesome idol. I know we were just kids back then, but… it still means a lot."

"Sora..."

"Part of me… regrets becoming an idol." His voice grew hollow. "I think, maybe none of this shit would have happened if I hadn't become an idol and joined Yuukan. Maybe Hiro-senpai would still be alive. Maybe I wouldn't be so screwed up. Maybe I'd actually be happy and not want to jump off a freaking cliff..."

My eyes widened. "What makes you say that, Sora?"

He let out a bitter laugh, and I noticed there were tears swimming in his brown eyes. "When I first joined Yuukan, it was just Yoshi, Senpai, and me. Senpai helped us practice a lot. He helped us adjust to our new lives. He was four years older, and more experienced. He was the best senpai we could ever have. And I guess… since I missed everyone here so much… I got attached. I asked Hiro-senpai for voice and dance lessons way more than Yoshi. Before I knew it, I realized… he was making me feel the same way you make me feel."

It… hurt me more than I thought it would… to hear that. It had nothing to do with Sora having developed feelings for another guy. I could care less about his preferences. What hurt was thinking… _Someone else stole his heart. Someone that wasn't me._ Perhaps it was selfish on my part to want him all to myself when we couldn't even be together without breaking some stupid rule. But he had found someone else to care about, and that… was _excruciating_.

"I realized… I liked Hiro-senpai… in a totally _not_ platonic way." His hands clenched into fists, and he looked away from me again. "It freaked me out. I was so _confused_. I mean, I thought I liked _girls_. I never thought I would ever even like someone else other than _you_. That's why I wrote that song—the song about you. The song you told me to sing at my audition."

I still remembered the lyrics… I still remembered the moment he kissed me. I still remembered how fast my heart raced and how I wondered if I was dreaming. Back then, I had been different. I had been putting on a 'serious' front for a while, but when Sora kissed me… I gave up on any pretenses of keeping it up around my friends. But once we had parted ways, I had no choice but to behave professionally because of my job. And now I was so used to it, it had become part of my personality. Both of us… had changed so much.

"One day, Hiro-senpai asked me about the song I used for my audition," Sora continued quietly. "He wanted to hear it… and had to coerce me to sing it for him. I was super nervous, but I sung it… and as I sang it, I realized… to me, the song wasn't about you anymore. It was about Senpai… and how I felt about him. And it was like I was singing it _to_ him."

Ah… and the worst part finally came… It was like I had been stabbed right in the heart. The song that had been meant for me… had become for someone else in Sora's eyes… Was this… what it felt like… to be replaced? It took all of my effort not to show any reaction and keep my emotions from showing on my face.

"When I finished, Hiro-senpai smiled at me." Sora closed his eyes. "He smiled, and said… 'You must have someone that you really, really care about. I could feel how much they mean to you just from those lyrics. It's a beautiful song, Sora—not surprised that you won the audition with it at all. Just… don't lose them, okay? This job… can get in the way of a lot of things. But trust me—it's always worth it in the end'."

Well… that explained one reason why Sora had been willing to throw everything away just to be with me. But I knew that there was much more to what had happened between us on my first day back in Inaba than just that.

"I remember it all so clearly." He had opened his eyes, and was staring at his hands, which he had unclenched. "Word for word. Because it was that moment that made me realize I had to do something… whether I was scared shitless or not, I had to do something. I couldn't just push back my feelings anymore. So, that night, I decided to go see him at his apartment. All of our apartments were in the same building, close by. Inoue-san wanted us near each other since all of us were minors."

But instead of continuing, he stopped. His hands clenched back into fists, and when he looked at me, there was such _agony_ in his eyes, I couldn't even describe it with words. And as soon as I saw that, I immediately knew what he was going to say next.

"...It was me, Rui. I was the one who found him. I forgot to knock, because I was so excited, and walked right in. I walked in on him kissing his girlfriend."

I… couldn't even imagine how heartbreaking that must have been for him…

"Everything would've been fine, if I could've kept my mouth shut… I was so upset, I ended up blabbing to Inoue-san and Ms. Ochimizu in front of _Shoji Sera_."

...I had completely forgotten that the Sera Group donated money to Takura Productions for their idols to advertise their products.

"And it was even _worse_ because for whatever dumb reason, he brought his freaking _son_ along."

...Arashi Sera? Ugh… This was just getting worse, wasn't it?

"When Hiro-senpai got kicked out… I went to see him one last time." Sora looked like he was on the verge of tears. "He didn't want to talk to me. He was pissed as hell. He yelled at me, and told me to never talk to him again. He… wanted nothing to do with me. I had wanted to apologize, but I… I never got the chance."

"Sora..." I couldn't hold back anymore. I let myself reach out and place my hand on his shoulder.

"And then… A-And then he..." The tears finally spilled down onto his cheeks and he squeezed his eyes shut for the millionth time. "He killed himself. He just… wrote that fucking awful song and _blew his head off_ … and it's all my f-fault!"

I didn't bother saying anything, no matter how much I wanted to tell him that he was wrong, and that it wasn't his fault. This wasn't the time for words. Instead, I pulled him into an embrace. Sora choked on a sob as he slid his arms around my waist and hugged me tightly, pressing his face into my shoulder. It was a bit overwhelming, seeing as he was at least twice my size, but I pushed those thoughts aside.

"Shhhh, Sora," I said softly, trying to use a soothing tone. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. It's okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

That just made him sob harder. At least my leather jacket was waterproof… He could cry all he wanted, and no harm done. I closed my eyes, and gently stroked his back, trying to remember what I had done in the past to calm Haku down when she got really upset. My right hand strayed upwards as if on impulse, and I started running my fingers through his hair very softly. I rested my cheek against the side of his head, trying my hardest to channel soothing energy towards him.

My heart ached. My head was still throbbing. I felt like I could pass out at any moment. But I _had_ to make Sora feel better… That was all that mattered to me right now. He meant way too much to me… His happiness had to come first…

I wasn't sure how long I sat there, holding Sora as he cried. My knees started to hurt from sitting in this position for so long. But finally… the sobs slowed. His body stopped shaking, and his breath steadied. I lowered my hand from his head, and pulled back a little. Sora did the same. I saw that his face was blotched from crying, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked just as exhausted as I felt.

"Sora," I said gently, searching his eyes. "You're not screwed up. You're _human_. And I wouldn't want you to be any other way."

He just stared at me for a moment, his eyes widening, until his entire expression relaxed into a sad smile. "I can't believe… I forgot how you make me feel, Rui. I'm… happy."

It was my turn to be surprised—and completely caught off guard. "S-Sora-"

But I didn't get a chance to finish that sentence, because he kissed me. Maybe if my own emotions weren't a jumbled up mess, I would have been able to resist him. But as soon as his lips touched mine, it was like every cell in my body melted. I slipped my arms up around his neck as I kissed him back, letting him pull me onto his lap. It was probably very inappropriate to kiss like this… but I didn't give a shit.

We broke apart after a moment, both having to catch our breath. For once… I didn't feel so tired. We just sat there for a few moments, staring at each other. Wow… That had been our best kiss yet…

"Uh… So." Sora cleared his throat. "Shouldn't we get outta here?"

"...Right. We should."

I slid off his lap, and carefully heaved myself up onto my feet. He followed suit, brushing off his jeans. I looked around, hoping an exit had magically appeared during that entire conversation. And much to my surprise—and _relief_ —a door _had_ appeared. It was just like the one that had shown up in my bedroom, but the swirls were blue and white instead of red and black.

"That must be the exit," I said, glancing over at him. "Are you ready to go back?"

He nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah. I'm tired of this place."

Before I could take a single step, Sora reached out and snagged my hand. I froze for a moment, caught off guard yet again. I really wasn't sure what to make of all of this, but…

We could take it one step at a time.

I led the way to the portal.


	6. Yasogami High School

**RUI**

* * *

_Tuesday, April 5th, 2039, Cloudy._

* * *

Long story short, after Sora and I left that mysterious place, we ended up in the Old Shopping District in town. A phone call later, and Yu picked us up and took us to the Narukami house. Rise ended up flipping out on Sora, scolding him ruthlessly, before she started crying and just hugged him. I had known they would be worried, but I hadn't been expecting that…

Both Yu and Rise thanked me profusely, and my own parents were called to come get me. And as soon as I got home, I all but passed out on my bed. The entire event had thoroughly exhausted me. I wasn't even sure if I had any dreams that night. But regardless, I didn't get much sleep, as I had to get up early to prepare for school.

I had to down some aspirin before doing anything, though, because my head was hurting too much. And I had to sit down a few times from getting too dizzy. My PCS was acting up very badly… Perhaps I had put too much of a strain on my body last night.

After I finished doing my hair, I gave one last look over my uniform. I hadn't changed much, other than just adding black tights instead of socks. I picked my briefcase off my bed before heading downstairs to join the rest of my family. I saw Mom talking to Haku and Sonomi, while Dad was bustling in the kitchen, most likely making our boxed lunches. Yori was eating breakfast, while Shion, the blue-eyed white shiba inu that belonged to my cousin, stared at him relentlessly. I was surprised I was the last one down here.

"Good morning, Onee-chan!" Yori greeted me cheerfully.

I smiled at him softly. "Good morning, Yori. Are you excited for school?"

His face fell almost immediately, and he looked down at his place. "...Kind of?"

Ah… Well, I understood his nervousness. He was entering a grade with kids much older than him. It would be difficult to make friends, and he would most likely be treated differently due to his intelligence. I had gone through something similar when I first became a detective.

"Well, Yori, I believe in you," I said, giving him another smile. "I'm sure you'll be okay. It may be hard, but you'll be okay. Everyone here has faith in you."

As if to back me up, Shion let out a confident bark. Yori giggled a little, and reached out to give the dog a scratch behind her ears, before looking up at me again and smiling.

"Thanks, Onee-chan. I'm going to do the best I can!"

"Good!" I nodded in approval. "Keep on thinking that, and you'll do splendidly."

Shion let out another bark, and proceeded to knock my brother down to the ground, plastering him with kisses. Yori exploded into laughter, trying to push the dog off of him to no avail.

"H-Hey! Shion-chan! Stop! Hahaha! That tickles!"

"Shion! Not again!" Sonomi rushed over to scoop up the shiba inu off of my brother. "Oh, Yori-kun, are you okay?"

Still giggling a little, Yori pushed himself back up. His face was smeared with dog licks and even his hair was a little messed up. "Hehehe, yeah, I'm fine, Sonomi!"

"What's going on here?"

I looked over to see that Mom had joined us. Yori immediately hopped to his feet.

"Mom! Shion was just giving me kisses again!"

"I'm so sorry, Aunt Naoto," Sonomi apologized nervously, shifting the squirming pooch in her arms. "Shion is just really rambunctious!"

Mom let out a sigh, but ended up chuckling a little. "It's quite all right, Sonomi. Yori, let's go clean you up."

"Okay, Mom."

"Oh, and Rui—take it easy today, all right?" Mom told me, pausing before leaving with my brother.

I nodded in agreement. "I will, Mom. Don't worry."

She seemed satisfied by that, giving me a nod of her own, before placing her hand on Yori's back and leading him to the bathroom on the first floor. I just stood there for a moment with my cousin, who still didn't put down her dog.

"U-Um… Aunt Naoto told me about what happened last night." Sonomi bit her bottom lip. "I'm really sorry that I couldn't be there to help you..."

"It's all right," I said, trying to give her a reassuring smile. "Everything turned out fine in the end."

Had it… really?

I hadn't been giving it much thought, due to my exhaustion. It had been so… _chaotic_. Sora's inner conflicts all coming out at once had almost been too much to take. But now wasn't really the time to think about it either. I needed to be focused on school.

Sonomi smiled a little. "Okay, I'm glad to hear that. But next time, if something happens, please let me help!"

I nodded in agreement. "I definitely will, Sonomi."

We continued on to get breakfast. As I ate, I went through my cell phone. I found a text message from Akemi saying that she would be coming over so we could walk to school together. Ah… Typical Akemi. I wasn't surprised at all, and I sent her a message so she would know I had gotten it. Sonomi had sat down in front of me, and just paused to adjust her headband.

Thankfully, out of the two girls, Sonomi had chosen to wear her uniform appropriately. The only alteration she had made was wearing black thigh high socks rather than the standard knee high white ones. Haku, on the other hand… She had ditched the top for a long sleeved black sweater with a red skull and crossbones— _now where had I seen that before?_ —that fit her a bit too tightly. And she had rolled up the skirt, and had on ripped knee high black socks and combat boots.

Leave it to my sister to break all the rules. Good grief.

But just then, the back door burst open, and in came Kaya of all people, dragging along both Haruto and Reizo with her.

"Ta-da!" she exclaimed dramatically. "Kaya is in the house! And I brought these guys with me!"

"How the… How the hell did you get in here?!" Haku demanded.

Kaya grinned cheekily. "I stole your key a while ago, Ko-chan!"

"...So that's where it went," she muttered under her breath.

"You lost your key?!" Dad demanded, of course, honing in on that and not that a bunch of children had just busted into our house.

Haruto let out a nervous laugh as he pulled himself out of Kaya's grip. "I'm sorry, Tatsumi-san—Kaya just can't be stopped."

"Sadly, Haru is correct," Reizo sighed, straightening out his red cardigan.

"U-Um..." Sonomi's eyes were wide as saucers.

"We have come to take Sonomi-chan to school with us!" Kaya declared, putting her hands on her hips. "Oh, and Ko-chan, too, of course."

"Yaaaaaaay," Haku deadpanned. "I'm _thrilled_."

"U-Um… thanks," Sonomi managed to say, playing with a strand of her hair nervously.

"We do need to go now," Haruto said. "First years have to arrive early on the first day."

"O-Oh, um..." Sonomi looked to my dad as if to ask him what she should do.

"Go ahead and get your stuff, and I'll finish your lunch up real quick," he said. "Same to you, Haku."

My sister grumbled some obscenities under her breath, but got up and followed Sonomi up stairs. I returned my attention to my breakfast, but the next thing I knew, Kaya had slunk up to the table. She had slipped her hands into the pockets of her orange hooded jacket.

"Sooooo, Rui-senpai, when are you gonna start dating Sora?"

I admit it. I nearly spit out my food.

"KAYA!" Haruto all but shrieked.

"Whaaaaat?" She looked back at him. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Haru-chan. I'm just curious!" But then she giggled. "Or maybe I should ask you when you're gonna ask-"

"All right, let's get outta here!" Haku's voice interrupted whatever Kaya was going to say as she and Sonomi came back downstairs. But then she saw what was going down here, and stopped walking, and our cousin nearly rammed into her. "What the hell are you standing around like that? Why's Haru's face so damn red?"

I sighed heavily, pressing a hand to my forehead. _Teenagers_. Why did I have to be one?

"Huh?" Sonomi stepped out from behind my sister. "Is Haru-kun okay?"

Kaya only snickered. "Oh, _trust me_ , he's more than okay~"

"Kaya, could you not for five seconds?" Haruto groaned.

"...Haru, I'd be grateful," Reizo muttered with a sigh. "She could be much, much worse right now."

"Can we just _go_ already?" Haku grumbled.

"Suuuure, Ko-chan," Kaya said. "You wanna hold hands?"

"Wha-" Haku's eyes widened in surprise, like she had been caught completely off guard. "What kinda question is that?! No, I don't want to freakin' hold hands! What the _hell_?"

...I felt like that was a total overreaction. Girls hold hands all the time. What was wrong with that? I had held hands with Akemi so many times when we were young.

"Ugh, I'm outta here! See you guys at school!"

Before anyone else could say a word, Haku made a beeline out the back door, removing herself from the entire situation.

"Hey! Not so fast!" Kaya exclaimed with surprise, but it was too late. "Aw man, she's fast. Jeez, she didn't have to react that. It was an innocent question!"

...I had a feeling that nothing about Kaya Hanamura was innocent anymore.

"U-Um… Shouldn't we go, too?" Sonomi asked nervously.

"We really, really should," Reizo deadpanned.

Haru laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, we have to make sure Haku actually makes it."

Sonomi got the lunches from Dad (I was amazed he had been quiet the entire time, to be honest), and finally the remaining four first years left, leaving the house in peace. Mom finally came out with Yori, and they both joined me at the table. Once Dad finally finished my boxed lunch, he joined us too. With my sister gone, it was actually nice to sit and eat with them. That was kind of… sad.

But finally, after like twenty minutes had passed, there was an actual knock on the back door. I had already finished my breakfast and had been doing a last minute check on my briefcase. After I told Dad I would get it—Mom had already left for work—I walked over to answer the door.

"Good morning, Rui-chan!" Akemi greeted brightly, giving me a little wave. "Are you ready for your first day at Yasogami?"

Akemi was, thankfully, wearing the Yasogami uniform appropriately. She had only added to it, rather than changing anything. She wore a lacy long-sleeved black bolero over the top, with a bow tied neatly, and opaque tights with tiny black hearts dotted sparingly over them. She also had on a black choker with a winged heart-shaped charm around her neck.

I managed to smile at her. "As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose. Let's go."

I said goodbye to my dad and brother, who would be both leaving shortly themselves. Dad would be driving Yori to school. And then we both headed off. The cloudy was still cloudy, but at least it didn't look like it would rain anymore.

"You have no idea how happy I am to have you back, Rui-chan!" Akemi told me with a smile. "And Sora-kun, too! We can finally go to school together again."

She was right, of course. I just had never thought of it like that.

Akemi looked up at the sky. "I wish the weather would be nicer, though! It's been so rainy lately."

I made a face. "I've noticed."

She giggled, but then her expression saddened. "I know we haven't really gotten to hang out since you've come back. I've been busy helping at the inn."

"It's all right, Akemi," I tried to reassure her. "We have a whole year to catch up."

"That _is_ true," she agreed, although she seemed to be a bit reluctant to do so. "I dunno, I just… I want to spend time with everyone, since we're together again! Iruka-kun's got to hang out with Sora-kun a lot! It's not fair."

Part of me wanted to say _life isn't fair sometimes_ but I knew that really wasn't the answer she needed to hear. Maybe that was something I needed to tell myself. Most times, things didn't go the way we wanted them to. I felt like that summed up my entire life.

"I'm sure everything will work out eventually," I told her gently—but what was I really talking about here, at this point?

Akemi giggled, and smiled a little. "You sure haven't changed at all, Rui-chan. You always were trying to cheer us up and make us feel better. You could always make us smile."

"...I was?" I asked regrettably, as I could not remember this.

She nodded, still smiling. "Yep! You should've seen the grin on Iruka-kun's face when we found out you were coming back! Rui-chan and Sora-kun back at the same time! It was the best thing _ever_."

I honestly didn't know what to say. I had always thought I would be the one that wasn't missed that much. I wasn't sure _why_. I had always felt that way. And here she was, telling me…

"Oh oh, Rui-chan, look! It's them! Iruka-kun and Sora-kun!"

I was snapped out of my thoughts as Akemi grabbed my hand and proceeded to drag me along with her as she rushed towards the two boys. But once we got closer, she let go of me, ran up to Iruka, and jumped onto his back.

"IRUKA-KUN!"

"Wha-" Iruka cut himself off because he staggered forward, quickly grabbing her legs to support her. "Dammit, Akemi, why do you keep on doing that?!"

She giggled, keeping her arms around his neck. "Because I miss you, silly!"

I walked up to them before the two of them could start bickering. "Good morning, everyone."

"O-Oh, hey, Rui!" Sora exclaimed, like he was suddenly hit by a nervous bomb.

"Morning, Rui," Iruka grumbled, as Akemi wasn't getting off of him. "Jeez, Sora, what's with you, suddenly stammering?"

"H-Huh?" Sora's cheeks tinted faintly pink. "I'm… fine! Totally fine! Haha..."

I fought the urge to sigh. I had expected this. After everything that had happened last time, it was understandable that he would be nervous around me. Especially considering the kiss and how I sat on his lap. Ugh… I still couldn't believe I did that. Sora always had this inexplicable effect on me, but now that we were older, it was turning into… something else.

And yes… part of me was paranoid that he truly did not care for me and would try to use my feelings to his advantage. Last night, he had broken down before he could tell me everything. How did I know that everything he told me wasn't just a lie?

I didn't want to think any of this. I wanted to believe the best of Sora. But I was… _scared_.

"Suuure you are..." Iruka didn't look convinced. "Jeez, did something happen that I don't know about?"

Akemi dropped down from his back, gasping as she darted to stand next to him. "You mean… like..."

"...L-Like?" Sora almost _squeaked_.

"...LIKE YOU GOT YOUR VOICE BACK?!"

I let out my breath, realizing I had been holding it. Damn, for a moment there, I had been worried that Akemi had somehow figured us out. Though I didn't even know what to call _us_ at this point. Friends? Partners, and not in the way Iruka and Kaya used it? What _were_ we?

"...No. No, that isn't what I meant at _all_ ," Iruka groaned.

"What _did_ you mean, then, Iruka-kun?" Akemi asked, looking up at him innocently.

"Yes, Iruka, what _did_ you mean?" I inquired icily.

"Eep…" he squeaked. "N-Nothing! Nothing at all! Nope! Nada!"

"I think I saw my life flash before my eyes," Sora muttered.

Oh, Sora you really thought _that_ was bad?

I reached up to brush my ponytail behind my back. "Shall we get going? We don't want to be late."

"Oh yeah!" Akemi nodded in agreement. "Let's go, guys! Off to Yasogami we go!"

And so we began to walk together. Akemi kept on chattering away, keeping the conversation going. Neither Sora nor I had to input much, thankfully. I did my best not to look at him too much. I was still feeling jumbled up from last night, and I couldn't imagine the mess his own emotions were in. This was just… _chaotic_.

As we walked around, and my thoughts started to resort themselves again, I took note of my friends. They had made their own adjustments to the uniform as well, it seemed. Sora's changes were miniscule, as he was just wearing the gakuran open, with the white dress shirt untucked and the first few buttons undone. But he was also wearing a set of red headphones around his neck. As for Iruka, he had his gakuran buttoned up halfway, and was wearing a green shirt underneath his dress shirt, which was slightly unbuttoned, and green sneakers.

But finally, we reached the gates to Yasogami High School. Akemi ushered us to stop for some reason.

"Guys, we have to all walk past the gate together!" she declared, raising a finger. "It'll be cool! Us all entering school together for the first time!"

Well… I guess it couldn't hurt.

"All right," I said. "Let's do it."

"Whoa, really?" Iruka asked in surprise. "Well, I'm game."

"Sure, why not?" Sora said.

"Yay!" Akemi cheered, jumping up with delight. "Come on, let's do it!"

She had us all line up next to each other, standing boy-girl-boy-girl, which made it impossible for me not to be near Sora, as she put me as the _middle_ girl. Knowing Akemi, she probably did it on purpose. I knew she wanted us to get together… She wanted me to be happy.

Happiness… What a joke.

"Okay! Let's go!" Akemi exclaimed happily.

So we took our steps in synch and walked up the small hill, and past the gate. And as soon as passed it, Akemi let out a happy squeal and broke the formation, darting ahead a little as we quickly stopped so we wouldn't bump into her.

"Yay, that was awesome!" she cheered, clapping her hands together once. "I knew I could count on you!"

That managed to get a laugh out of all of us, and we all headed for the front door. I wasn't feeling so bad about going back to school now. I really hoped I could get in the same homeroom as one of my friends. Preferably… _not_ Sora.

We entered the building. The foot lockers were right out front, and we had to walk past them. But then two other students came down from one end of the hallway, nearly bumping into us.

"Whoa, sorry-" Sora began to say, only to quickly cut himself off. " _Sera_?! What are _you_ doing here?!"

Lo and behold, it was indeed Arashi Sera, and his younger sister Chiasa. I had met then both once, a while ago, but I couldn't remember where exactly. If I recalled correctly, Arashi was a third year, and Chiasa was a first year. They both had the same golden blonde hair, but while Arashi's eyes were blue, Chiasa's were brown instead. Arashi wore his hair neatly, with his bangs swept to the side. Chiasa's hair was kept long, going all the way down to the small of her back, and she wore a black headband.

"That's _Sera-senpai_ to you," Arashi said with a laugh, completely unfazed by his question. "My little sister and I are attending this school, you know. Father thought it would be more beneficial to move here and integrate ourselves with the locals. Color me surprised to see _you_ on the first day, though."

"You know _Arashi Sera_?!" Iruka all but shrieked.

"Uh… yes?" Sora reluctantly answered, clearly uncomfortable.

"His sister is here, too, you know," I stated dryly, irritated by the fact that they were only paying attention to _him_. "Hello again, Chiasa."

Chiasa's eyes widened. "Oh, um… hello, Rui-san… I-I mean, Rui-senpai!"

"Wait, you know them, _too_?!" Iruka demanded.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes…? Why is this such a big deal?"

Arashi chuckled, as if he was amused by this entire display. "Ah, pay them no mind, Rui. It _is_ good to see you again, doing so well, especially after your accident. I'm pleased to see that it did not diminish even a single ounce of your beauty."

...Now I remembered why I was personally not very fond of Arashi Sera. He spouted too much idle flattery to nearly every female he met. Ugh… How irritating. I really was _not_ in the mood for this.

"Yes, well, if you'll excuse us, I believe Sora and I need to go to the office to meet with our respective homeroom teachers," I said, choosing to completely ignore his compliment.

"Huh?" Sora seemed to snap back to reality. "Oh, right… Yeah, let's go."

Wow… He actually said something coherent.

"Oh oh, it's on the hallway to the left!" Akemi told us quickly before we could walk away. "See you later!"

"I really hope none of us get _Kashiwagi_ ," I heard Iruka groan.

Sora and I reached the door moments later, but before either of us could open it, it opened up on its own, and a woman stepped out. We quickly backed up out of her way. I assumed she was a teacher, though she seemed a bit too… _old_. Despite that her hair was obviously dyed light brown and she must have gotten face lifts or used Botox or something, she carried herself like a much younger woman. Not to mention how she dressed—it was so inappropriate for a woman her age, much less a _teacher_. I was a bit taken aback.

"Oh? Are you the new second years?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She opened up the folder she was holding. "Ah, yes… Sora Narukami and Rui Shirogane."

"Yes, that's correct," I said.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed, as if this pleased her greatly. "You are in class 2-2— _my_ class. I'm Ms. Kashiwagi. I teach biology."

Wait a moment… wasn't that the name that Iruka had said? Kashiwagi? I had a bad feeling about this…

"My, aren't I lucky," Kashiwagi mused, her brown eyes twinkling with… something. "I get a handsome young idol in my class. Now, Sora, if you _ever_ need some help with your studies, I am very willing to give you some private lessons. Oh dear, has anyone ever told you you have your father's face?"

"U-Uh…." Sora's eyes grew wide as saucers as all the color drained from his face. "E-Excuse me?"

What the… Did she seriously just-

Kashiwagi chuckled. "No need to get shy. It doesn't suit you."

"Ms. Kashiwagi, I believe we should head for the classroom before this turns into explicit sexual harassment that most definitely _will_ be reported," I stated icily.

Her gaze flickered from a floundering Sora to lock on me. "No need to get yourself all worked up, Shirogane. Follow me."

...Humph. I hoped she wouldn't be as nearly as irritating when she was actually teaching. But something told me not to get my hopes up.

* * *

**SONOMI**

* * *

Class had come and gone really quickly. Before I knew it, the bell had rang, announcing the end of the day. I was really happy that I ended up being put in the same homeroom as all of my new friends, but it was still really overwhelming. I just wanted to leave and go back to the Tatsumi's. I started gathering my things as soon as I stood up.

I couldn't help but glance over at where Haru was. He was still so _cute_ … I hadn't thought much of Yasogami's uniform—I liked Gekkoukan's so much better—but it looked really nice on him. He wore it properly, unlike the other three of us first years. It suited him well. For a moment, I completely forgot about what I had been doing.

A bunch of girls rush over to Haru as soon as he stood up, like an ambush. I fought the urge to sigh out loud. I guess Kaya hadn't been joking when she said that he had fangirls or something.

"Aw, Ko-chan bolted already!" I heard Kaya exclaim in exasperation from behind me, standing next to her check. "Jeez, she's really been no fun lately."

"People change, Kaya," Reizo said, giving her a bit of a stern look. "Why are you so surprised?"

"I dunno," she said, shoving her hands into the pockets of her orange hoodie. "Oh hey, Haru-chan's wiggled free of the horde!"

I had just finished packing my things away in my bag when Haru finally came over. He sat on the other side of the room, away from us. It made me a little sad, if I was being honest… I don't know why, but something about him seemed different from the others.

"You survive, Haru-chan!" Kaya greeted him with a cheeky grin.

"Haha, very funny," Haru sighed. "You'd think they'd stop by now..."

"Girls," Reizo sighed.

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Kaya exclaimed, before poking him on the chest. "Stop being such an Amagi Challenge!"

"...An Amagi what?" I asked in confusion, speaking up for the first time.

"Girls are always asking Rei-chan out, but he turns them down every time, just like his mom did with—OW!"

"Will you shut _up_?"

Haru sighed, looking over at me as they continued to bicker. "Hey Sonomi, have you gotten to look around Inaba yet?"

I felt my cheeks heat up just from him talking directly to me. "U-Um… no."

He smiled. "All right, I'll show you around then! It'll be fun!"

"H-Huh?" My eyes widened with surprise. "R-Really?"

"Yeah, sure," he laughed. "It's no problem. But we should go before they notice."

"Notice what?" Kaya gasped, having just finished her bickering with Reizo, or whatever they had been doing. "Haru-chan… did you… _ask Sonomi-chan on a date_?!"

"W-What?!" Haru's eyes widened and his cheeks tinted pink. "No! I was just offering to show her around town!"

"That sounds like a date to me," Reizo deadpanned.

"See, even Rei-chan agrees!" Kaya declared triumphantly.

"T-That's… really not what I was doing..." Haru squeezed his eyes shut. " _Dammit_ , guys."

Oh… so Haru _wasn't_ asking me on a date? I hadn't thought that in the first place, but when Kaya jumped to that conclusion, I sort of hoped it would be true… I had never been on a date before. Back at Port Island, boys were always scared away by my cousin Hotaru, or my friend Ryo, or were just intimated by my status as the daughter of a famous actress. But Haru… He was in a similar situation as me. I thought maybe he'd be different, but I guess not…

Or was I just jumping to conclusions too soon? We had just met a couple of days ago, after all…

Mom had always said that she fell in love with Dad over time. Maybe time really _was_ needed.

Okay… I felt better about this.

"Really? _Reaaaally_ , Haru-chan?" Kaya put her hands on her hips and stepped closer to him. "Wow, that's _disappointing_. I think you'd be cute together."

"H-Huh?" I squeaked, snapping to attention.

"Kaya, you seriously don't know the definition of stop, do you?" Haru groaned.

"Nope!" She grinned impishly. "Well, if it's not a date, then why don't we all go show Sonomi-chan around town?"

"I suppose I could come along," Reizo said.

"...Fine," Haru sighed. "Whatever. Are you ready to go, Sonomi?"

"Um… Yes."

There was no more disputing after that. Everyone got their things together, and we left the classroom. I really was glad that Yasogami's layout was simpler than Gekkoukan's. As a first year, I would only have to stay on the first floor. I remembered the tour my friends and I had gotten of Gekkoukan High School with the other upcoming first years, and it had been pretty overwhelming.

But… I still wished I could have gone to Gekkoukan. After all, that was the school my parents and their friends went to… And it was where my dad had died… on the roof top, in my mom's arms. And because of the impact he had made on the school, they had hung up a picture of him on a wall in the main lobby.

Thinking about that made me reach for the MP3 player hanging around my neck as we left the school. Normally, when I thought about Dad, I would listen to his music, but I couldn't do that right now. I just needed to suck it up and deal with it… I mean, it wasn't even like I had met him… Why did I have to get so upset over someone I never knew?

"Sonomi-chan? Earth to Sonomi-chan! You in there?"

I snapped to attention again to find Kaya waving her hand in front of my face.

"S-Sorry!" I blurted. "I… was thinking."

"Oh?" A mischievous smile formed on her lips. "Thinking? Were you thinking about how cute-"

Reizo elbowed her in the ribs, cutting her off. "Will you knock it off?"

"Owwie!" Kaya puffed her cheeks and stuck her tongue out at him. "Rei-chan, whose side are you on?!"

"Nobody's," he sighed.

Haru cleared his throat. "Well, we're at the Old Shopping District. You've been here at least, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm sort of familiar with it."

"So we can move on!" Kaya cheered. "Where to now, Leader?"

Haru gave her a sour look. "Don't call me that."

After that, we continued on again. Haru led the way down the sidewalk, with Kaya skipping back and forth, going ahead of us, then going back behind Reizo, and then repeating. I was getting the impression that she couldn't really sit still. She reminded me a bit of Ryo. He was really energetic, too, and had a tendency to get into trouble.

The tour went on. They showed me how to get to Junes, and we stopped at the food court to get something to eat. I was surprised that the food there wasn't so bad. It wasn't like what you could get on Port Island, but I could get used to it.

But at the very end of the tour, Haru insisted on going to the hill that apparently overlooked the entire town. I wasn't sure what was so special about it, or that there was even much to see of this place. But I didn't object to them taking me there.

"Here we are!" Haru announced happily, before looking down at me and smiling. "We come here a lot. In the summer, our parents take us up here for a picnic. It's really fun."

Kaya grinned. "Yeah, and Dad and Uncle Yu bring _buckets_ of water balloons for us to have a _huge_ water fight after lunch!"

My eyes widened. "A water fight?"

"Of _course_ you had to bring up _that_ ," Reizo sighed.

Haru laughed lightly. "It's not so bad. Come on, Sonomi, you have to see the view."

He beckoned me to follow him, so I did, also taking it as a chance to look around a little. There was an old, rickety wooden pavilion that looked like it had seen better days, but other than that, there wasn't much to see. Though, honestly, I probably couldn't really appreciate anything here. I'd grown up in a city my entire life. Inaba was peaceful… if you ignored the whole Midnight Station thing that just came up. Though it wasn't just limited to Inaba.

Kaya and Reizo followed us to the fence. I looked down, and you really could see the entire town. It was tiny… a lot tinier than I had expected. It just hadn't seemed so _small_ to me. Maybe it was because everyone was so lively, they made it seem bigger? Then again, there were only three classes in each year at Yasogami.

"Hey, Haru-chan, there's your house!" Kaya exclaimed, pointing to a nondescript roof. "That mean's mine is… there! And the Amagi Inn is over here!"

Kaya started pointing to different places so fast, I couldn't keep up.

"It probably doesn't seem like much to you, huh?" Haru asked, looking back over at me. "Tatsumi Port Island is huge, from what I heard."

"It's not as big as you make it sound," I mumbled.

"That's what she—OW! Dammit, Reizo!"

Haru sighed. "Can you really act your age, Kaya?"

I blinked in confusion, not getting what had just happened. "Um… is that all you have to show me? That was… quick."

"Inaba _really_ doesn't have that much," Reizo said after giving Kaya one last sour look. "It's not as bad as it was thirty years ago, but still."

"That's why we have friends!" Kaya cheered, punching her first into the air. "Otherwise, I'd probably go _nuts_ with boredom. I really don't blame Sora and Rui-senpai for leaving."

Haru laughed awkwardly. "I doubt that's the real reason they left, Kaya. They were following their dreams."

"Well, if you _say_ so," Kaya huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "At least we have Okina."

"Okina?" I asked.

"It's the closest city nearby," Reizo answered. "You can take the train there, but it ends up being an all day visit that way."

"And that's why I'm getting my scooter license when I turn sixteen!" Kaya announced, snapping her fingers.

"...Kaya, that's not the actual reason you want to get a scooter," Reizo sighed.

"Oh, but it's _one_ of many!"

Haru rubbed the back of his head. "Haha, you guys..."

I looked at all of them—my new friends. It would've been nice to get to know Kohaku a bit better, but I was glad that at least they were friendly enough to stick around. At least I would have things to do when class ended, hanging out with them.

I was starting to feel better about moving here to Inaba.


	7. The Mystery Thickens

**RUI**

* * *

_Tuesday, April 5th, 2039, Cloudy._

* * *

Much to my pleasure, Sora and I ended up being placed in the same homeroom as Iruka and Akemi. Our seats were even right next to each other, the ones in the back of the middle rows. My desk was next to Iruka's, with Akemi's behind his, and Sora's behind mine. It was honestly a relief that we were in the same class. I… wasn't the best at socializing and making friends. I hadn't been sure how I would have been able to handle being in a class without any of my friends.

Nonetheless, most of the day was spent listening to Kashiwagi ramble on and make students uncomfortable. Honestly… how did she even still have a job?

It was an understatement to say I was relieved when the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the school day. I clearly wasn't the only one who felt this way, as Iruka was the first one out of the four of us to hop out of his seat.

"Yes! Freedom at last!" he declared triumphantly.

"Finally," Sora groaned in his seat behind me.

"I was excited to start second year with everyone, but now not so much," Akemi mumbled dejectedly.

"...I don't blame you," I muttered.

"Akemi, don't you have to go help at the inn?" Iruka asked, looking back at her.

"Oh… Right!" She quickly stood up. "Nee-san asked me to help this time..."

Setsuko Amagi was Akemi's older sister. She was around the same age as Ryuu, Sora's older brother, and Kazuo, Iruka's older brother, making her around twenty or twenty-one. She was the heir of the Amagi Inn, and from what I had heard, was taking online classes while she helped at the inn. From what I could remember, she had been close friends with Ryuu and Kazuo, much like how the four of us were.

"I'll walk you there," Iruka said. "People have been… getting mean again."

I frowned. "That is seriously still an issue?"

Akemi winced. "We live in a small town… What do you expect?"

...Akemi's father was half Japanese, half German. His name was Hayate Wallach, though he had taken on the Amagi name when he married her mother. From what I had been told, the Wallachs had moved to Inaba during my parents' second year in high school. He had always been nice to us as children whenever we came over to play with Akemi. I still remembered the day my parents had to sit Haku and me down to explain why everyone treated Hayate-san and Akemi so poorly. I remembered how angry I had gotten.

Akemi was naturally blonde, which she had inherited from her father, along with her blue eyes. Setsuko and Reizo had no such features; they took mostly after Yukiko, and therefore could pass as pure Japanese. But Akemi and her father had no such luck. The bullying eventually got so bad that Akemi begged her parents to let her dye her hair black, which they eventually agreed to. She even colored her eyebrows to hide her natural hair color. And while it worked with strangers, everyone in town knew about her heritage and the racist behavior did not stop completely.

"I'm not surprised," I sighed. "Merely disturbed."

"You should see it in showbiz," Sora muttered. "I was walking past one of the audition rooms once and I overheard one of the judges tell this kid to leave before it even started, and when he came out, I saw that he had to be at least half white. He was really upset, so I took him to an empty break room to help him calm down before he went back to his parents. I gave the kid an autograph since he asked, too."

"Ugh… That's awful..." Akemi's face scrunched up in disgust. "But I'm glad you were there to help him, Sora-kun."

"Me too," he sighed. "I talked about it to Inoue-san and even Ms. Ochimizu and they said there's not really anything we can do about shit like that."

"Figures," Iruka muttered. "Just talking about it pisses me off. Let's go, Akemi."

She nodded, having gathered her things together already, and I watched the two of them leave the classroom. Iruka must have been walking her home for a while now… I realized I could have gone with them, but it was too late. We all were too used to _not_ being together.

I got up from my seat to start putting my own things away. I was honestly surprised I hadn't had many dizzy spells so far today. Maybe I was finally starting to recover.

"Hey, Rui?"

Sora's voice caught my attention, and I looked back at him. "Yes?"

He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Do you… have some free time?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes…? What for?"

He coughed awkwardly. "I need to talk to you… about… _y'know._ "

I let out an exasperated sigh. Would there ever be a day where Sora Narukami was eloquent? Apparently not today.

"Very well," I said. "Give me a moment and-"

"Maybe this is the classroom that Sorata-kun is in!" a female voice exclaimed, and we both glanced towards the farthest doorway to see a bunch of girls peeking in, only for all of them to squeal shrilly.

"IT'S HIM!"

All the color drained from Sora's face. "S-Shit.. GOTTA GO, SEE YOU LATER RUI."

Before I knew it, both my friend and the fangirls were gone.

Sighing wearily, I pressed a hand to my forehead. This… would be quite troublesome to deal with. Hopefully I would be able to find him later for that conversation. But for now, I would head home, as I was feeling very tired, despite the lack of dizziness.

* * *

I was walking down the Old Shopping District when I noticed something that had most definitely not been there before.

There, in front of the side of one of the shops, was a glowing blue door. At first, I thought I was hallucinating from fatigue, but then I remembered something that Igor had said. He told me that the next time we met, it would be of my own accord. So I decided to take a risk, and cross the road to approach the door.

As I stopped in front of it, I felt something materialize in my hand, and looking down, I saw the key that I had been given. It ended up floating right out of my hand and slipping into the keyhole. The door clicked up, and after glancing around to make sure no one was watching, I opened it up and stepped inside.

And just like I expected…

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted me. "Please, have a seat." Once I was sitting down in one of the seats, the old man cleared his throat. "Now I shall explain to you what exactly I do here to assist you."

"You mentioned something about Persona fusions," I stated.

He nodded. "That is correct. Here, I will take two or more Personas and transmute them into a brand new one. In order to create more powerful Personas, you will need to master your Social Links."

"...Social Links?" I repeated, wondering what he meant by that.

"Yes," Igor said. "A Social Link is the bond you share with another person—a relationship. To utilize your power to its full potential, you must strengthen your Social Links."

...So basically I would be using the power of friendship? Perhaps manga and anime weren't nearly as far off as everyone thought they were. This was a most intriguing turn of events, if not a bit concerning. As I had mentioned earlier, I wasn't the best at making friends… or keeping them.

"I understand," I said.

"I have a job here, too!" Safie exclaimed, cheerful as ever. "If you ever find any skill cards, hand them over to me, and I'll be able to give that skill to a Persona as many times as you want! It'll cost you, though."

...Why was I not surprised?

"Understood," I muttered.

"Well, we shouldn't keep you any longer," Igor chuckled. "Please, feel free to stop by at any time and we will assist you."

"Awww, already?" Safie pouted. "These visits always go by so fast… Oh well, bye-bye Rui, please stop by again soon! I miss you already!"

* * *

As soon as I stepped out of the Velvet Room, my cell phone vibrated. I took it out to see that I had received a message from Sora, asking me to meet him up on the hill that overlooked the town. Fighting the urge to sigh, I texted him back saying that I would be there. Part of me wished this could wait until tomorrow, as my fatigue was getting worse, but of _course_ not.

Perhaps I was getting a little petty here… This time I _did_ sigh. I needed to think objectively. Letting myself get irritated before I even spoke to Sora would do neither of us any good. So, forcing myself to take a deep breath to calm down, I started off for the hill.

By the time I reached the destination, Sora was already there. Or perhaps he had already been there in the first place. I found him sitting at the bench under the pavilion that looked like it had seen better days. At least one thing in this town hadn't changed.

As I walked over to the bench, I couldn't help but remember the summer days when we'd all come up here for a picnic and the annual water fight. It had always been girls versus boys, and we, the girls, won nearly every year, much to the boys' chagrin.

I could barely believe I even remembered that. Perhaps my memory was improving, at least.

"Oh, hey, Rui," Sora greeted me once he saw me, before smiling awkwardly. "Sorry about that. I _really_ hate being famous sometimes."

I sat down on the bench next to him. "I know the feeling."

His eyes widened slightly. "Oh, right—you've got fans too, don't you? Don't they still call you the _Princess Sleuth_?"

I made a face. "Where have you been? Of course they still do. And I _really_ don't like that name."

"Sorry," he said with a wince. "I've… been pretty wrapped up in my own problems lately, honestly..."

"I've noticed," I deadpanned.

Sora laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "H-Hey, cut me some slack… I never got to finish telling you everything this morning."

"No, you didn't," I sighed, wondering what he even still had to say at this point.

I had been worrying about this earlier, but now I just was too tired to deal with it. But Sora wanted to talk, so it would be rude of me to refuse to listen.

"Hahaha…" He coughed into his hand, looking away from me. "Damn, this is awkward..."

"You're the one making it awkward, Sora."

"Okay, okay…" He sighed, like he was suddenly dejected. "I've… been thinking about everything that happened. With you and with Hiro-senpai."

I stayed quiet, deciding to just let him talk and get it out already.

"And I… I think I'm… what's the word again? Uhhh… oh, right, _biromantic_."

For a moment, I was confused about why he didn't say _bisexual_. But then I recalled learning about romantic orientations in the past. Sexual and romantic attraction were two entirely different things, and sometimes didn't match each other. I supposed what Sora meant then was that he was one of those people who didn't have corresponding orientations.

"I see," I said, not sure of how else I could respond.

"It was really hard to accept that, much less _tell_ someone," he said quietly, looking down. "I thought I was some kinda freak, that there was something _wrong_ with me… but I'm not the only one. All of that happened because I was scared of my feelings for Senpai..."

"None of it is your fault, Sora," I sighed.

He didn't respond right away, still not looking at me. "I guess… but Rui, I was scared… The freaking industry made me scared of falling in love—of _being_ in love. And what happened to Hiro-senpai… just made it worse."

Well, I could understand that. A lot of idols were probably frightened. They didn't want to break the rules. They didn't want to ruin their entire lives. And with youth as young as thirteen becoming idols, their young minds would quickly begin to either fear or hate it.

"I know I said I wasn't even sure what my feelings were anymore..." he sighed, before finally looking over at me. "I thought maybe I really was just trying to use you… to… you know… but… I thought long and hard about it. 'Bout what I _really_ want."

I raised an eyebrow, curious about where he was going with this. I would speculate but I was so exhausted, my mind wasn't quite working to its full ability.

"I..." He paused, and looked right into my eyes. "I want… to be with you. Senpai was right. You're worth the risk, Rui. What we have… is worth it. I don't want to lose this chance. If my parents could do it, so can we." He smiled at me warmly. "So what I'm trying to ask is… will you be my girlfriend, Rui?"

Of all the possibilities swimming through my mind, that had not been one of them.

All I could do was stare at him, my eyes widening with pure surprise, my cheeks heating up. Did he seriously just… ask me out? This entire time I had been worrying that he was just playing me and no longer felt anything. I was so caught off guard, I couldn't find my voice for a moment or two.

"Sora, I..."

His smile faded away, his face falling. "...No, huh?"

"N-No!" I blurted, promptly losing any levelheadedness I had been trying to hold onto. "No, I mean _yes_ … I-I mean—ugh, I mean yes, I'll be your girlfriend! _Dammit_ , Sora!"

He stared at me for a second, before grinning. "Aw, it's been a while since I've gotten you all blushing and stammering."

That earned him a smack on the arm. "Shut _up_!"

Sora just laughed. "No, seriously… wasn't it when I sang the song to you?"

My heart sank, because… the memory was awfully hazy now that I actually tried to think about the actual details… "I… can't really recall..."

His face fell again for only a moment, before he smiled reassuringly. "It's all right, Rui. You're still recovering. The song's called _Never More_. Maybe, someday, if I ever get my voice back… I'll sing it to you again."

Despite how awful I felt about forgetting, I managed a soft smile, and nodded. "I would like that."

_Thou am I... And I am thou._

_Thou have established a new bond._

_Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana._

The sudden voice sounding in my head caught me off guard. Wait a second... Was this what Igor had been talking about? Had I just initiated a Social Link with Sora? If so, it appeared I was going down the right path after all.

His own smile turned into a grin, but before he could say anything else, his phone went off, blaring loudly. Frowning, Sora pulled it out of his pocket.

"I only have sound on for—shit, it's Yoshi. I gotta take this."

Yoshi, as in Yoshi Mashita, one of Sora's friends and group mates? This was… unsettling. Either it was purely coincidental, or something had happened.

"Hey, Yoshi," Sora greeted as he answered the phone. "No, it's not a bad time."

There was a long pause, and I could hear another voice on the other end. It was clearly masculine, and a bit deeper than Sora's. I never really paid that much attention to the other members of his group, or if I did, I just couldn't remember.

"Yeah, I've been doing okay," Sora answered after a bit of a lengthy pause. "It's good to be home with my family. But I really get the feeling that that's _not_ why you called. What's up, Yoshi?"

I couldn't make out the words, but his tone of voice was very grim and solemn. Whatever news he was sharing was far from good. When Sora's eyes widened, his entire body went stiff, and I immediately reached out to place my hand over his in an attempt to remind him that I was here, regardless of what horrible thing he had just been informed of.

"I… I can't believe it..." When he finally spoke, his voice was shaky and all the color had drained from his face. "Are they _sure_ it's suicide?"

At that word, I stiffened. I couldn't help but think of what my mother had told me. The mass suicides occurring throughout all of Japan… the connection to the mysterious Midnight Station… the Shadows that came out of the eerie world that appeared at midnight along with that diabolical song… the fact that we had to use gunlike Evokers to summon our Personas, which also came from Shadows… What on earth did all of this mean?

I felt a sharp pain pierce through my skull from thinking too hard. I had to bite down on my lip to keep quiet. I… couldn't interrupt his important conversation, especially when this could be part of the unworldly case I found myself being dragged into.

"Ugh… No, I understand. Takura wants to keep it quiet… I mean, this is the second suicide of one of their idols, all happening in the same year. It's not gonna look good…" A pause. "Well, thanks for the heads up, at least. I'm fine, _really_. Don't worry about me."

I ended up not paying any attention to the last parts of the conversation after that, as I was more focused on opening my briefcase and getting out some aspirin to take for my headache. Good thing I had thought of bringing a water bottle with me this morning. Once I had finished downing the medicine, I saw that Sora had finished the phone call.

For a minute or so, we sat in silence. I wanted to ask him what had exactly happened, but I decided against it. These things needed time…

"...Another idol in the agency was found dead this morning," Sora said quietly, breaking the silence as he stared down at his hands. "Suicide. Gunshot right to the head."

My stomach clenched sickeningly. There was more to that statement that he didn't need to add.

_Just like Hiroyuki. Just like Honoka._

"It was a girl," he muttered solemnly. "We don't really mix with the girls at the agency. It's not against the rules, but it's frowned upon, due to the whole _no romance_ thing. But I know a few of them, 'cause Inoue-san manages them. Plus we come across them in the hallways something. But this girl… I only really met her once, because she was with Misa."

"Misa?" I inquired, as the name wasn't ringing a bell.

"Misa Kamei," he clarified. "Her stage name's Mimi, and she only joined the agency last year. She's like… fourteen, fifteen? All I know is that she's close to Haku and Reizo's age. The girl who died… they were friends I think, around the same age. She seemed really… cheerful when I met her that one time. But I guess she was just acting..."

I returned my hand to Sora's. "I'm so sorry, Sora… I know you didn't really know her, but it's still devastating."

"Yeah..." he sighed heavily. "Just like with Honoka."

In that moment, I knew what I had to do.

Tomorrow, after school, once I was feeling better, I would go down to the Inaba Police Department to speak with my mom about this. The deaths were getting closer and closer… and I possibly had the power to find out why this was happening. I could not let this opportunity go.

But for now, I would go home and rest. I could do nothing productive in my current state.

So after staying with Sora for a little while longer, we parted ways, and I finally went home.


	8. The Painful Truth

**RUI**

* * *

_Wednesday, April 6th, 2039, Rainy._

* * *

It was raining again.

Or rather I should say _pouring_.

After dealing with my sister's never ending complaining about the awful weather, I put my umbrella away in my shoe locker, and headed to my classroom. When I arrived, I saw that Sora and Iruka were already there, talking by the desks. I took note that Akemi wasn't here yet, and walked over to my desk.

"Heeeey, Rui-chan," Iruka greeted me cheekily once I got to my desk and set down my briefcase. "It's a great day out, right?"

"Very funny," I deadpanned. "And don't call me that."

"The forecast says it's gonna be raining a lot," Sora sighed. "I wonder what's up with that?"

Iruka made a face. "At least the sun's supposed to come back by next Monday. Though… have you heard from Akemi, Rui?"

I raised an eyebrow. "No… Why?"

He grimaced. "She usually texts me if she isn't able to make it to school. And she's usually here by now."

"She's probably just running late," Sora said. "I mean, _Rui_ was even late."

I scowled. "It was because my sister was being a big baby."

"Wow, the great Kohaku Tatsumi was _whining_?" Iruka asked in mock disbelief. "Sometimes I forget she was wimpy when we were kids."

"Wimpy?" Sora snorted. "More like _'I don't wanna get dirty'._ "

The two boys laughed at the memory while I just rolled my eyes. Those two could be so ridiculous sometimes. But I supposed that was one thing that endeared them to me. But hopefully all was well with Akemi. As much as I wanted to believe what Sora said, I couldn't help but worry with everything that had been going on. Nonetheless, there was nothing I could do about it right now. I would have to wait until class got out.

...Hopefully Kashiwagi would not be as irritating today. _Hopefully_.

* * *

There was still no sign of Akemi when classes ended later that day. After some discussion, we all decided to walk down to the Amagi Inn to check up on her. Thankfully, I wasn't feeling very tired today, so I didn't have to force myself to go with them or anything. However, the scene we came across when we arrived at the Amagi Inn was far from what I expected.

Police cars were parked out in front of the inn. I even recognized my mother's vehicle.

A sickening knot formed in my stomach. I could only think of one reason why the police would be here… and it was not a reassuring thought. It was the complete opposite.

"W-What..." Iruka's eyes were wide with horror. "Something's… Something's happened… You don't think it'd be..."

All the color had drained from Sora's face. "I don't know..."

I realized my hands had clenched into fists, but I didn't bother releasing them. One of my best friends could have fallen victim to the Midnight Station… when I could have prevented it… I couldn't just stand here on the outside. I needed to find out what happened—for all of our sakes.

"...Let's go in," I said, breaking the silence. "Regardless of my return home, I'm still a detective. They can't say no to letting me inside."

...Or at least, that was what I hoped.

I didn't wait for the boys to respond. I started walking right up to the entrance, which was not guarded by any police officers. That should have reassured me to some extent, but it did not. All I could think of was the hard knot in my stomach and the cold sweat breaking out on the back of my neck. Ugh… Why did this have to happen? Why _Akemi_ of all people?

As soon as we stepped into the inn, I saw a few police officers standing around, talking to each other. My mother and Akemi's parents were nowhere to be seen. I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not, but I would have to speak with these officers.

"Excuse me," I said, walking up to them. "What's going on here?"

The officers all looked startled to see me. For a moment, none of them even answered. They were all pretty young, probably only recently hired a year or two ago at max. But finally one of them—a man probably around twenty-five or so, with short, neat dark brown hair and blue eyes—spoke up.

"Oh, you're Shirogane-san's daughter, right?" he asked. "She said you might be coming. I'm Detective Ohara."

"Yes," I said, getting impatient already. "What's happened here?"

Ohara grimaced. "Akemi Amagi… has gone missing."

Only missing? That meant that she could possibly be trapped in the same world that Sora had been. If she was trapped, that meant she most likely was still alive. Which meant that we still had time to find and rescue her. It was really sad that hearing that she was missing was a relief.

"Missing?!" Iruka, however, did not look relieved. "What do you mean, _missing_?!"

Ohara sighed. "No one noticed that Akemi-san was not at school, nor at home, until noon. Her older sister, Setsuko-san, found… a suicide note in her bedroom."

A… suicide note? Okay, I really had _not_ been expecting that…

"W-What?" Iruka gasped, his eyes widening in horror.

Sora, like me, was shocked speechless. I hadn't noticed any signs of this… but perhaps I hadn't been _looking_. Was Akemi truly… suicidal? Had she listened to the Midnight Station with the intention of dying? Ugh… What kind of friend was I if I never noticed?! And I was supposed to be a _detective_. Or maybe… I had been too absorbed in my _own_ issues…

"Are there any signs of what might have happened?" How I was able to keep my voice steady, I had no idea.

"From what I've been told… no, not really." He shook his head. "There are no signs of a struggle, so kidnapping is out. There are no signs of… harming of any kind. It's like she vanished into thin air."

...Thin air, huh? Yes… that place must have dragged her in. At least this gave us a place to start. I would have to ask Sora and Sonomi to help me in this.

"Is my mother further back?" I inquired, not wanting to waste another minute.

He nodded. "Yeah, with the Amagis. You can go on back."

Well, I took that as my invitation to lead the others further inside. As we walked away, I could hear some of the other cops questioning Ohara on whether or not it was a wise decision to inform me of all of that. It wasn't a surprise, considering how I wasn't _officially_ working. But there was no time for formalities. My friend was in danger.

We found my mother, along with Akemi's parents and older sister, talking beside the front counter of the inn. Yukiko-san was in tears, dabbing at her face with a handkerchief, while Hayate-san stood beside her, with his arm around her shoulders, looking very much devastated. And then there was Setsuko-san, standing the closest to us, wearing a kimono similar to her mother's, with her arms folded over her chest.

I had expected to find her parents, but her sister? Seeing Setsuko-san caught me off guard, and I had to reevaluate my entire approach to this. Honestly… Akemi's older sister could be a bit… _intimidating_. She just had this aura about her that basically screamed _way better than you_. I doubted she did it on purpose, but nonetheless it made it difficult to interact with her.

For the boys, though, I assumed it was more so because of how beautiful and poised she was. She definitely took after Yukiko-san, with her straight black hair that went all the way down to her waist—with half of it pulled back into a neat bun—and fringe bangs, fair skin, and dark eyes. She even had a beauty mark at the corner of her left eye.

However, I was spared, because everyone noticed us as soon as we stepped inside.

"Rui?" Mom asked with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"We came to see Akemi, since she wasn't at school today," I said. "Ohara informed me of everything."

"Did she… Did she really leave a suicide note?!" Iruka demanded, a hint of fear in his voice.

Mom sighed, and looked over at Setsuko-san. "Show it to them."

I realized that she had been holding a folded piece of stationary in her hand. Nodding, she walked over to us and handed me the folded paper. I felt a chill run through my body. Was this… really written by her? I didn't want to believe it… but as I opened it up, and the boys leaned closer to get a look of their own, I could clearly see that it was Akemi's handwriting. She always wrote her kanji in a cutesie style.

_Dear Everyone,_

_I'm sorry that this had to happen. But I really can't handle this anymore. There's no point in staying alive. All of you have seen what I've had to deal with. The hatred, the cruelty, the ridicule... I can't keep on living like this. What's the point of living when all you feel is pain? Every day, I tried to tell myself that it was worth it. That someday, the suffering will end. But it never will. I can see that now._

_I'm different. I'm not like Nee-san and Reizo. You two are lucky enough to look like Mom. But I look like Daddy. I thought dying my hair would fix everything, but it hasn't, and everyone still treats me awfully. I can't make any new friends. They just ignore me completely, or worse. And it hurts. It hurts so much when people don't accept you for who you are. I can't take the pain anymore. For the longest time, I've just felt miserable. I tried to be happy, because I thought I had no reason to be sad. I have amazing family and friends. I go to a good school. I get everything I need. But it's not that simple. It really, really isn't._

_I thought that maybe, when Rui-chan and Sora-kun came back, things would change. Maybe I'd finally be happy again. But that didn't work out either. I'm still being bullied. I'm still being left out. I'm still being treated like I'm not even human. I'm just glad I was able to see all of my best friends together one last time. I thought that, if I could see us all together again, then I could die happy. I was trying to hold out for that, and now that it's happened, there's no point for me to stay any longer. You don't really need me around to be happy._

_But there is one more thing I need to say. One thing that I need you, Iruka, to know._

_I love you, Iruka._

_For as long as I can remember, I've loved you. You've always been there for me, through everything. There has never been anyone so reliable as you. You were there through all my pain, and you supported me. You never left me. I've tried so hard to make my love for you my reason to live, and for a while, it was. Everyday, I got up thinking, "I can see Iruka-kun again today. Everything will be okay." But it hurts too much for that to keep me going._

_My feelings started... hurting. Everyday, I would see you talking to other girls. Flirting with other girls. And I realized that you would never see me more than a best friend. We'd never be more than friends. I tried to tell myself otherwise for the longest time, but I could never get the courage to tell you how I really feel. Even now, I'm only telling you after I'm dead. I'm sorry I'm such a coward._

_I will always love you, Iruka, and I hope you will find someone that will love you as much as I do. Thank you for everything. It's because of you that I've managed to live this long._

_Mom, Daddy, Nee-san, and Reizo... I really am sorry to leave you like this. I wish I was stronger, that I could fight these feelings. But I've already been hurting myself for a while now. None of you noticed. I hoped you would, but you never did. You deserve a daughter and sister so much better than me. Someone who's strong. But I'm not strong. I've never been strong. I've always had to rely on others. And I can't keep on living like that._

_I'm sorry. I love you all so much. And I will never forget our time together._

_Love,_

_Akemi_

I felt a heaviness in my heart that I hadn't experienced in a long time.

All of this—every single word—was Akemi. The care she put into each stroke, the wording, the emotions. I could see it all. I could feel everything she was feeling. I understood completely. I knew her pain. This was, without a doubt, from her.

Honestly? I was on the verge of tears. I felt like I had failed my friend. And not just because I left to start my career as a detective. This entire time I had been here, I had been wrapped up in my personal drama with Sora. Because of that, I hadn't noticed the signs I _should_ have noticed.

And now she was trapped in a mysterious realm with bloodthirsty monsters and the chance that her Shadow would form and try to murder her.

"Oh my... _god_ ," Sora breathed, his eyes wide with shock and horror.

Iruka, on the other hand, was speechless. He just stared at the paper in my hands, his own eyes wide and his face a mix of a variety of emotions so jumbled up I was unsure of what exactly he was thinking. But I doubted it was anything _good_.

Yukiko-san started sobbing harder, and Hayate-san pulled her into an embrace. I handed the note back to Setsuko-san without a word. What was I supposed to say? How was one supposed to handle a situation like this? It was unthinkable.

But I had known what I needed to do before even seeing that note.

"...I'm going after her," I stated.

That seemed to snap Iruka out of his daze. "Wait, what? Go after her _where_?!"

...That's right, he didn't know. That slipped my mind.

"I knew you were going to say that," Mom muttered. "Very well, we won't stop you. But make sure you're fully prepared. And bring Sonomi with you."

"I'm going too," Sora said, much to my relief. "Akemi's my friend, too."

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Iruka demanded, now sounding a little angry along with confused.

"...It's a long story," I sighed, not even sure where to start with the asinine tale.

"I'll explain everything," Mom said. "You two need to go prepare."

I nodded to her, and then looked up at Sora. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," he answered. "Let's find Sonomi."

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Sora and I had found Sonomi and gone back to my place. Sonomi had quickly gone upstairs to get something from her room. Being left alone with Sora for the meantime, I let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the couch. He sat down next to me.

For a moment, we sat in silence. I felt exhausted. I didn't know what to say. My head was beginning to pound. Just thinking about what Akemi was enduring right now made me feel sick to my stomach. I just wanted to find here, and get her back home, safe and sound, before any more damage could be done.

"Hey."

Sora's voice pulled me out of my ruminating, and I looked up at him. He had a worried expression on his face—but I wasn't sure if it was for Akemi… or for _me_.

"Everything is gonna be fine," he said, clearly trying to reassure me. "I'm sure we'll be able to find Akemi in time. I mean, you've already saved one person, Rui. You saved me."

...That was true… I had saved Sora. But that had happened so fast. Minutes were ticking by now. And those minutes were turning into _hours_. The longer she was in that place-

"I… I just want her to be okay." I looked down at my hands, which were sitting on my lap. "I want to save her."

"And we _will_ save her," he stated firmly. "Look at what you've done just by yourself, Rui. Imagine what we can do _together_. You're not alone in this."

I… wasn't alone…

That reminded me immediately of what Igor had said to me. This wasn't about going it alone, or doing everything yourself. I was so used to being on my own, with no one to rely on. But that that wasn't the case anymore. I had my friends… and boyfriend.

Still, I couldn't find the words to express how I was feeling. So I just hugged him. Sora slipped his arms around me as I pressed my face into his shoulder. I could feel another wave of emotions hitting me, and I had to fight the urge to cry. I was so worried about Akemi, worried about how she was doing, but if I was to help her at all, I needed to stay calm. Now was not the time to cry. Maybe later, but now… I had to keep calm.

"It's okay, Rui," Sora said quietly, still holding me. "We're all worried. We're all… scared. You're not alone. And if I have anything to do with it, you'll never be alone again."

Just from hearing him say that… made the tears I was trying so desperately to fight fill my eyes. My fingers gripped his gakuran jacket, and I pressed my face harder into his shoulder, trying to hold back the sob building inside my throat.

I didn't want to cry. I didn't want to make a scene. I didn't want to make this all about _me_. My friends were hurting, too.

But then I head a loud creak on the stairs, signaling that Sonomi was rejoining us. Instead of pulling away like I should have, I just froze in place.

"Um… is everything okay?"

I quickly jerked away, trying to wipe my eyes with my sleeve, as Sora hastily scooted away from me. Dammit, this was embarrassing! At least it was _Sonomi_ , and not someone else...

"Y-Yeah, everything's fine!" Sora stammered hurriedly. "Did you get what you were looking for?"

She nodded, and I saw that she was carrying a large case over two hundred centimeters long. I had to stand up and push the table out of the way to make room for it.

Sonomi set it down on the floor, and flipped it open. Inside was a naginata, along with a sleek sword and her Evoker from earlier. I didn't realize how prepared she was to fight Shadows until now. And yes… I was impressed.

"This is my weapon," she said, pointing to the naginata. "And… I want you to have this, Rui-san."

She lifted the sword out of the case, and held it out to me carefully with both hands. Its blade gleamed silver, and the pommel had an elegant design. I was a bit surprised that she was offering it to me, when I already had my own weapon.

"It belonged to my father," Sonomi said quietly. "I think you, as the leader, should have it. And well… using a gun when we have Evokers is… kinda unsettling."

I was more… taken aback this time. She was offering me something that belonged to her father… my uncle. I… couldn't refuse this. So I accepted the sword from her. It was light in my hands, which made me guess that it was one-handed. I noticed, engraved in the base of the blade, were the kanji for Arisato: 有里.

"Thank you, Sonomi," I said quietly. "I'm honored to have this."

She smiled softly at me. "There's no need to thank me. I know you'll use it well, Rui-san."

"So, uh..." Sora shifted awkwardly. "Rui said you have a scanning Persona?"

"That's only one of Psykhe's powers," Sonomi explained. "Normally, I'm battler, like you two are. But I can do some minor analyzing. It's, um, the only thing I'm allowed to do right now."

"Well, we are grateful for your help regardless," I said, finally feeling myself calming down. "We do have an issue, however..."

"We do?" Sora asked in confusion.

"...I don't know how to get inside this other world other than listening to the Midnight Station."

Sonomi's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I sensed a portal to it in the Old Shopping District with Psykhe."

...Well, that was convenient.

"Could you take us to this portal?" I asked.

She nodded. "Sure. But before we go, we should get our gear together."

It was decided, then, that we would part ways and then rendezvous in the Old Shopping District in front of the bookstore. I was grateful, because it would give me more time to clear my head. I couldn't be all emotional with us going to such a dangerous place. There were people counting on me.

It proved quite a feat to figure out a way to hide my gear. I ended up pulling out an old duffel bag out of my closet and putting the sword and my Evoker inside it. I was slightly surprised when my mother came home before I headed out, and she gave me a few extra items. Most of it was medicine, in case one of us got hurt, but there were a couple of strange bead-like things that she said would safely take us out of wherever we were.

She also told me to expect Iruka… which wasn't that much of a surprise. Apparently Chie-san gave him permission to join us. I knew there was no way I could stop him from coming with us to look for Akemi, so I would just have to bear with it and hope he wouldn't get hurt.

But when I finally did arrive at our meeting spot, I saw that I was the last one to arrive. Sora, Iruka, and Sonomi were already there. Well… I had taken my time preparing, and I had spoken with my mother. Still, I felt bad for making them wait.

"Sorry for taking so long," I sighed once I joined them. "Mom came to talk to me."

"Lemme guess," Sora said. "It was about Iruka coming with us."

"...Yes."

He let out an exasperated sighed. "I feel like we're really, really gonna regret this."

Sonomi cleared her throat, catching our attention. I noticed she was wearing an unfamiliar uniform. But after a moment, I recognized it as the Gekkoukan High School uniform. It was so much more modern and sophisticated than our uniform. And honestly, it suited Sonomi so much better.

It consisted of a black long-sleeved overshirt, embroidered with Gekkoukan's emblem on the left side of her chest, a white long-sleeved blouse underneath that was tucked into a high-waisted black skirt that went down to about right above her knees, black knee-high socks, and a pair of loafers. A large red ribbon was also tied into a bow around the collar of her blouse, and she still wore those headphones and mp3 player.

"We're just taking a look inside this time, right?" Sonomi asked. "I mean, from what Sora-senpai has said about what it was like for him… It'd be better if we didn't just rush in."

...She had a point, of course. As much as I wanted to rescue my friend, we had to be careful. I could see that now, since my mind was clear.

I nodded in agreement. "That would be the best course of action. No Shadows were attacking Sora when he was inside, so I believe it would be safe to assume that that will be the case for Akemi."

"You're really going to leave her in there?!" Iruka demanded. "After everything in that letter, you're just gonna take your sweet old time finding her?!"

"Hey, don't yell at her like that," Sora retorted. "And don't act like you're the only freaking one here that's worried about Akemi. She's friends with _all_ of us. Rushing in to save her will only get us all killed, and then what help will we be to her _then_?"

"Both of you, _stop_ it," I snapped, speaking up before this turned into a full out argument. "Fighting about it will get us nowhere. Being reckless will also get us nowhere. We're _all_ worried about Akemi, Iruka. But we have to go about this _carefully_."

Iruka opened his mouth like he was about to argue… only to shut it again. He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah… you're right. Sorry."

I decided to leave it at that, and turned to my cousin. "All right, Sonomi, take us to this portal."

She nodded. "Okay, follow me."

She led us further down the shopping district. We passed right by the door to the Velvet Room. But then, moments later, we stopped on the sidewalk on the other side of the road, across from Aiya. At first, I couldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. But then Sonomi waved her hand over this spot, and the portal came into view.

It was just like the ones that had appeared for both Sora and me—a swirling mass of red and black. But no one else besides the four of us seemed to notice it. In fact, no one else seemed to be paying attention to us. So I motioned for everyone to go through the portal, before stepping through it myself.

And just like before, I found myself stepping out into a vast open space, with an eclipsed sun casting down a blood red light onto everything. The atmosphere made me tense, and I watched as Iruka and Sonomi looked around in total shock. Sora stopped next to me as they took it all in.

"This place..." Iruka got out. "...is like the Samegawa. An _evil_ version of the Samegawa."

Sonomi shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. "It's so heavy here… It's just like how my mom described the Dark Hour..."

"Dark Hour?" I repeated, puzzled by the term.

"Oh, right… I never explained." Sonomi sighed, reaching up to brush her bangs away from her eyes, only for them to start sliding back in place. "The Dark Hour was a hidden hour in the day that existed thirty years ago. Every night at midnight, it would happen. Normal people would transmogrify into coffins, while Persona-users or people with potential would remain unaffected. The Dark Hour was when Shadows would become active. And the Shadows lived in this tower called Tartarus."

"Holy shit," Sora breathed, eyes wide. "How the hell did it go away?"

Sonomi looked down at the red earth. "My parents and their friends… worked together to eliminate the Dark Hour. They were a team of Persona-users called SEES, which is short for _Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad_."

Well, that explained why Sonomi's Evoker was labeled with _SEES_. And I had a feeling there was more to the story than that, but I decided it would be best not to push the topic. There were more important things at hand anyways.

"So this place is like the Dark Hour," I stated. "We'll have to keep that in mind. Sonomi, can you find out where Akemi is?"

"Uh, I don't think that's necessary," Sora said before she could answer. "This place looks like the area we went to to escape after you rescued me. And ship sure as hell wasn't there last time."

Confused by what he was saying, I looked to where he was pointing, and my eyes widened. Holy crap, how did I not notice that? It was a very expensive looking luxury liner sitting in the water a ways away from where we were.

"Let's check it out," I said, not wanting to waste another minute.

* * *

Ten minutes later, we were standing on the shoreline in front of the massive ship, which was docked right in front of the arena that Sora had been in.

Indeed, it was a luxury liner. It made me think of the cruise ships people took for vacations. It was massive, looming above us several stories high. On the hull of the ship, in gold kanji, was _Samegawa Cruises._ A banner was draped along the side of the ship, and in bright pink kanji, it read _THE FESTIVAL OF PASSIONATE LOVE_.

The Festival of… _Passionate Love_? I… had no words.

Akemi's mind had created this. What on earth was going on in her head to produce… _this?_

"Uhhh..." Sora sounded nervous. "Okay, I really did _not_ expect this."

"F-Festival of _P-Passionate_ Love?" Iruka squeaked.

...Boys.

"Um… so it's like… a love boat?" Sonomi asked hesitantly.

"I suppose it is," I sighed. "Well, let's go inside."

"W-What?!" Iruka all but shrieked. "Oh, right… Akemi's in there."

I fought the urge to sigh in exasperation. One minute, he's all gung ho about saving Akemi, and now he's not so certain? I knew this place was a shock, but still.

But anyways, I led the way up the dock—which also hadn't been there before—to the ramp that led up to the first floor of the ship. It was odd, though, that what we entered appeared to be some sort of lobby. There were comfortable looking chairs to sit in, potted plants, and even an aquarium without any fish. The walls and floor were all bright pink.

"Oh, look!" Sonomi exclaimed, pointing to something. "There's a vending machine!"

It seemed the absurdities of this place would just keep on coming.

We all walked up to the vending machine, Sonomi scampering off ahead of us a bit. But she frowned, and looked back at us as we reached her.

"This vending machine is full of candy called _Kimono_ … I've never heard of that. Kimono is a weird name for candy, don't you think?"

"Uh..." Sora's eyes widened. "Sonomi, that's _not_ candy."

...Ugh, I should have figured that _that_ would be in a love boat. This place was like a love hotel in boat form, wasn't it? It seemed I had more to talk to Akemi about than how she was suicidal.

Sonomi looked up at him, confusion in her eyes. "Huh? Of course it has to be candy. Vending machines carry food or drink, and the packaging is way too small to be anything other than candy. And they're labeled with flavors… Strawberry, orange, cherry, pineapple, passion fruit, starfruit..."

...What the hell does _starfruit_ even taste like?

"Dude… _Dude_." Iruka nudged Sora on the arm. "This seems like a waste, don'tcha think? We should buy some."

" _What_?!" Sora shrieked, his voice cracking up an octave. "Are you _insane_?!"

"Wait, so you're going to buy some candy?" Sonomi gasped. "I want some!"

Okay. So. Part of me just… _snapped_.

"Sonomi. Those aren't candies. Those are _condoms_."

"H-Huh?" Her eyes slowly widened to the size of saucers. "O-Oh… um… they're… oh my gosh."

Now that that was cleared up and she seem sufficiently horrified, I turned my attention to the boys. Sora reminded me of a deer in headlights, and I honestly could not blame him. He was being the _sane_ one here.

"Iruka. I don't recommend buying anything from that vending machine."

"Why _not_?" he asked, clearly trying to provoke me in this situation by being a little shit.

"Oh, let me think… we're in the _Shadow world_. This could be a trap. They could be poisoned, lined with sharp needles, and so on… You wouldn't want _that_ to happen down there, would you?"

All the color drained from the boys' faces. In fact, they both looked a little sick.

"N-Now that you mention it… that would be _really_ bad," Iruka muttered pitifully.

Sora let out a nervous laugh. "I was against this idea from the very beginning."

"Yes, I'm aware," I deadpanned. "Let's move on. We need to figure out where Akemi is."

"Um, I'll stay back here to do my support," Sonomi said. "It looks safe."

"All right," I said. "Let's get out our gear, then."

We spent the next few minutes pulling together our gear. The sword that Sonomi gave me had a sheath, which I decided to strap to my back. Once my Evoker's holster was bound around my waist, I gave Sora the medicine to hold onto, since he actually had pockets. When we all were set, we parted ways with Sonomi, and headed deeper into the first floor.

We found ourselves walking down the hallway that led away from the weird lobby. I got the feeling that this floor was where all the cabins were, because the hall was lined with doors. When we reached the end of the hallway, it opened up to a long corridor filled with windows. The eerie red light shown in through those windows, making the pink walls and floor seem darker than they actually were.

" _Senpai? Can you hear me?"_

Sonomi's voice sounded in my head, and gauging by my friends' reactions, they heard her too.

"Yes, we can hear you," I said out loud, wondering if that was the right way to communicate with her.

" _Yay!"_ she cheered. _"I was worried that it might not work… But I wanted to tell you that with Psykhe, I was able to figure out more about this world."_

"Please continue," I said.

" _Well…_ _it feels like the Dark Hour, but it's not. It resembles the TV world, but it's separate. This place… I can_ sense _it's name. It's called_ the Duat _."_

The Duat…? What an intriguing name. At least we knew what to call this place now.

"Thank you, Sonomi," I said. "Is there anything else we should know?"

" _Oh, I'm definitely sensing Akemi-senpai here. This place just radiates her essence. But because of that, I can't really pinpoint where she is exactly. My scanning abilities aren't strong enough… but I'm guessing that you'll find her at the top."_

"The top, huh?" Sora asked. "Well, we've got a destination now, at least. That's better than nothing."

I nodded, before turning to Iruka. He hadn't said anything, so I was a bit worried. But I didn't get a chance to say a word, because… crying began to echo overhead.

Agonized sobs sounded all around us, as if the entire ship was making the sound. And I would recognize that voice from anywhere. It was… Akemi.

" _P-Please… just leave me alone! I'm tired of hurting all the time! I just want it to go away!"_

Iruka's eyes were wide with horror. "A-Akemi..."

" _Day after day… I see how everyone looks at me. With disgust, or pity… I know what they whisper about… I know what they say. Can't you see that you're hurting me too?! Just leave me alone so I can die in peace!"_

I looked up at Sora, uncertain of what exactly was happening. Were these Akemi's inner thoughts? Was this place telling us how she really felt? If so… I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear how much pain my friend was in…

"A-Akemi..." Iruka's voice pulled me out of my thoughts and we both looked over at him. "I know I promised my mom I'd be careful… but I _have_ to save her!"

"Iruka, wait-" Sora started to say, but it was too late.

Iruka bolted down the corridor, towards the end with the open entrance.


	9. Hidden Thoughts

_Wednesday, April 6 th, 2039, Rainy._

* * *

 RUI.

* * *

 “ _Senpai,_ _no!”_ Sonomi cried.

Iruka had run off down the corridor, and disappeared through the large entrance. We were so surprised, for a moment, all we could do was just stand there. Dammit… That idiot! What was he thinking?! He didn't have a Persona! There was no way he could save Akemi on his own! Ugh… Why was everyone so damn reckless?

“ _You have to hurry!”_ Sonomi exclaimed, sounding very distressed. _“Something's not right up there! I can't tell what exactly, but Iruka-senpai could've just walked into danger!”_

Ugh! Was he so desperate to die, too? Well, I wasn't going to let _anyone_ die any time soon.

“Let's go,” I said, looking over at Sora.

He nodded in agreement and we both rushed down the corridor and through the open doorway. We found ourselves bursting out into an open room, which I immediately recognized as a ballroom of sorts. Yes, a ballroom, like where sophisticated parties and dances were held. The hardwood floors gleamed and a very fancy chandelier hung from the domed ceiling. It would have been a beautiful place for an event if it was anywhere else but here.

“Iruka!” Sora shouted as we reached him at the center of the room. “Dude, don't run off like that!”

The response we expected was not what we got.

“Will you knock it off?!” Iruka snapped, turning around to glare at us. “The more time you spend nagging on me, the less time we have to save Akemi!”

“Whoa, take it easy!” Sora raised his hands in a _calm down_ gesture. “We're only checking out this place right now, remember? We can't just rush in here without a plan of how to save her.”

“We need to be cautious,” I said. “I know you're upset, Iruka, but-”

“Upset? _Upset_? Is that really all you have to call it?” he demanded, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “Did you read the same letter as I did? Or maybe it's just me, since, y'know, she _confessed her feelings for me in a freaking suicide note_.”

“Iruka-” I started to say.

“Ugh, just _stop_!” he snapped. “Iruka this, Iruka that! I get it, okay?! You don't think I'm good enough to even help you in here!”

My eyes widened in shock that he would even suggest such a thing of his own friend, but before I could protest that it wasn't true…

“ _Go on! Tell 'em how you_ really _feel!”_

A voice… A unmistakeably familiar voice made us all freeze. It was Iruka's, without a doubt, but just like before… it was distorted in a way that sent chills down your spine. Iruka slowly turned around and we all saw exactly what I was hoping _wouldn't_ happen.

Shadow Iruka had arrived.

Just like before with Sora, Iruka's Shadow self looked exactly like him. He had that shaggy, but a bit tousled, light chestnut hair, but his eyes were that eerie shade of yellow. But unlike with Sora, this Shadow wasn't wearing a special costume. It was just wearing Iruka's version of the Yasogami uniform. But the vicious sneer on its face was not something I ever wanted to see again.

“W-What?!” Iruka sputtered, his eyes wide as saucers.

Shadow Iruka laughed—a loud, creepy giggle that I never wanted to hear again. _“_ _C'mon! You_ know _you wanna! You bottle your feelings up all the time. It's 'bout time you told the truth, don'tcha think?”_

I glanced over at Sora to gauge his reaction, but ended up not catching anything because he noticed me looking at him and met my gaze. Yes… he was just as worried as me by the looks of it. We both were probably wondering… had we failed another friend?

“I… I don't know what you're talking about!” Iruka stammered nervously, not supporting his words very well.

Shadow Iruka rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms over his chest. _“_ _It's the same thing over and over again, isn't it? No matter what you do or how hard you try… you'll always be second best. Hell, not even_ second _! More like_ last place _.”_

The sickening pit settling in my stomach gave me a feeling that I knew _exactly_ where this was going…

“ _You hate having no control over that,_ don't _you? No matter what you do, nothing changes! You can't fix anything—not even your own_ friends _.”_ The Shadow sneered. _“Speaking of friends… wasn't the whole reason you bolted was to get to your_ precious _Akemi? Ha! Good luck saving_ her _! You can't even save_ yourself _.”_

“Iruka, don't listen to him,” Sora warned. “He's trying to rile you up!”

“ _Iruka don't do this, Iruka don't do that,”_ Shadow Iruka griped in a mocking childish voice. _“Damn, why is everyone so frickin' bossy? I'm so damn tired of people telling me what to do!”_

“Ugh… Stop it!” Iruka groaned, his hands clenching into fists.

But his Shadow just gave another hideous sneer. _“_ _Akemi wants to know why I was flirting with all the girls but her? 'Cause I know, deep down inside, that she's waaaaay too good for me! I mean, really? Have you looked at her? Her body… it's just…_ hot damn _. There are_ so _many things I would love to do to that girl.”_

...Well this had taken an unexpected turn.

“...Oh my _god_ ,” Sora breathed with complete and utter horror.

“I… uh...” Iruka's face was red as an apple.

“Why am I not surprised?” I sighed.

“ _U-Um…_ _I'm confused,”_ Sonomi said.

“You're not missing anything,” I muttered.

Shadow Iruka laughed again. _“What's the matter?_ _Sexuality is nothing to be ashamed about.”_

...Now who was _this_ directed at, I wonder?

“This is making me extremely uncomfortable,” Sora muttered under his breath.

“Oh really? I'm quite enjoying it.”

“...Funny, Rui.”

“ _But there's one emotion I'm_ always _trying to hide...”_ Shadow Iruka scowled menacingly. _“Anger. Rage._ Wrath _. Whatever the hell you wanna call it! I'm so frickin' mad all the damn time! I look at everyone, at how they're set for life! My brother and sisters... my_ friends _… I look at them, following their dreams… while I have_ no _dream and_ no _future._ _I'm just a nobody._ _”_

To know that these were Iruka's true feelings… To know he had been hurting all these years too… It really made me feel like I had failed my friends. And now I was here, having to clean up the mess I had created. I was supposed to be a detective, yet I missed this…

“H-How… How do you know all of this?!” Iruka demanded, snapping out of his embarrassment as if he was hit by another wave of anger. “It's like… It's like you're _me_!”

Dammit, this was just like before. The Shadow was about to say that he was him, and then Iruka would reject that, and then the Shadow would turn into a giant monster. But at least that would be something we could fight and this could finally be ended.

And considering the fatigue that was settling in… I needed this to end fast.

The Shadow's head whipped back and he laughed maniacally. _“That's_ _'_ _cause… I AM you! And you're me! We_ _'re_ _the same!”_

Iruka's eyes widened, and he shook his head, taking a step back. “N-No… That's not true… There's no way… YOU'RE NOT ME!”

Shadow Iruka made such a hideously devious smirk that my skin crawled as darkness began to surround him “Heh...hehehehehe... Ahahaha... AHAHAHAHAHAHA! I've been waiting for you to say that...”

“Iruka!” I shouted, hastily unsheathing my sword. “Get back!”

But it was too late. The darkness exploded from around his Shadow Self, sending a shock wave that knocked Iruka right off his feet and nearly sent Sora and me sprawling. We quickly moved ahead of the fallen Iruka, facing the Shadow that had taken form. I was relieved that Sora moved with me without question, since we hadn't really gotten a chance to fight together before this.

“ _I_ _AM A SHADOW_ _..._ _THE TRUE SELF_ _...”_ Shadow Iruka said in a guttural growl. He appeared to be some kind of armored knight, but the armor was transparent—like it was made of glass. He was bound to the ground with thick silver chains, hunched over with a long rod in his hand with a barbed whip at the end. _“Y_ _OU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME_ _?! I'_ _LL PROVE IT TO YOU_ _—I'_ _LL KILL YOU ALL_ _!”_

“Sora, are you ready?” I asked, glancing over at him.

He nodded, meeting my gaze with determination burning in his brown eyes. “Yeah. Let's save Iruka, Rui!”

His resolve made me feel better, and a faint smile tugged at my lips. “Good.”

But before I could do anything else, Sonomi spoke. _“Be careful, Senpai! This one's really powerful! I can't tell much else, though. You'll have to find its weakness yourself._ _I'm sorry..._ _”_

“There's no need to apologize, Sonomi. We're all doing our best.” And after that, without further ado, I pulled my Evoker out of its holster, put it to my temple, and pulled the trigger. “Persona!”

As this was literally my second battle with my Persona, I still wasn't one hundred percent sure of how to do this. But Iruka's life was at stake, and I had Sora by my side. I knew that I couldn't do this on my own. There was just no way. But… I was okay with that.

Hatshepsut lifted herself above me, raising her hand to issue a Zio spell. The blue electric bolt hit Shadow Iruka, making him cry out in pain and cringe a little, but not much damage was done. Lightning was not his weakness, then.

But the attack had aggravated the Shadow. With a furious snarl, it lunged at me. Hatshepsut quickly leaped forward, putting herself between me and the monster. However, as soon as he lashed the whip and struck my Persona, I felt the beating myself.

“Agh!” I cried out, feeling lacerations form on my arms, and looking down I could see my sleeves darkening… which meant I was bleeding. “Sora… _do_ something!”

“R-Right...” He was staring at the Evoker in his hands. “I… I can do this. I was ready to use a real gun on myself the other day… and this _isn't_ real.”

Hatshepsut pushed back Shadow Iruka, but the knight wasn't giving up so easily. Sensing another command from me, electricity began crackling up her entire right arm, effectively zapping him with Zio without having to lift a finger. But I could feel warm blood beginning to drip down my fingers, which would make it difficult to hold my sword after a while.

 _Stay calm._ I needed to stay calm.

“PERSONA!”

I looked over just in time to see Sora, with his Evoker pressed to his forehead, pull the trigger. Blue glass shattered out from the back of his head, and a blue light surrounded him as Heka emerged from his soul. And the Persona immediately raised his hands, like it was performing a spell.

A faint blue light surrounded me, and instantly I felt a soothing sensation flow through my entire body. More specifically, the pain in my arms vanished… and the bleeding stopped. Did Sora just…

I glanced over at him, and he gave me a wink. “I've got us covered for healing. We can go all out, as long as we don't, y'know, _die_.”

“That would be inconvenient.”

“ _SENPAI! LOOK OUT!”_

But Sora proved to be a distraction from the Shadow, because I wasn't paying attention until Sonomi shouted her warning, and I looked over just in time to see it hurling my Persona against the wall. As soon as Hatshepsut crashed against the wall, I felt my legs give way and I hit the floor, the air knocked right out of my lungs and my sword wrenched out of my hand.

“Rui!” Sora cried. “Dammit, you're gonna pay for that!”

I was trying to push myself up as I saw Heka blasting forward, and then he thrust out with his hands, creating a weak fiery blast. That distracted Shadow Iruka enough for both my Persona and me to get back up on our feet. But there was now a Hatshepsut-shaped crater in the wall.

Ugh… Neither of our Personas had his weakness. What were we going to do? Could we really hold out in a long fight? I was getting more and more exhausted by the minute, and I could feel a headache coming on. _Dammit_.

“ _Rui-senpai, are you okay?”_ I heard Sonomi ask me.

“...I'm fine.” It wasn't the total truth but I couldn't tell her how I was truly feeling without worrying her. “Can you tell us anything else about the Shadow?”

“ _Um… well, I wouldn't bother trying to use your light and darkness spells on it. Shadows this strong are usually immune to them.”_

...Huh. Sora's wasn't, but maybe the weaknesses were more connected to the future Persona's weaknesses. Heka was weak to darkness spells, and I always assumed that was how I defeated his Shadow with Mudo.

“All right,” I said as both Hatshepsut and Heka attacked the Shadow with their elemental spells. “I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Sonomi.”

After that, Sora and I moved closer to get in some attacks with our swords—or at least once I got a hold of my sword again. At this point, any damage, no matter how little, was good. With each passing moment, my head was beginning to pound. I really would not be able to last much longer in this fight. Perhaps I should say something, but I didn't want to worry my friends.

“ _Senpai, watch out! It's going to do something!”_

We both backed up away from the Shadow, but it jerked upright, pulling against the chains that bound it to the floor. Our Personas began to back up as well, but even that wasn't enough.

“ _YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING, DON'T YOU?”_ Shadow Iruka snarled. _“WELL, I'M NOT STUPID!”_

We had expected that it would attack again, but in a similar fashion to before. But this was not the case. Shadow Iruka viciously slashed his whip into the ground, and a violent explosion of slash attacks exploded all around us. Both my Persona and me managed to dodge a couple, but I still was hit at least thrice. It was hard to keep count because Hatshepsut got hit as well.

I gasped, collapsing to the ground. I could feel the welts forming on my body. And not just welts, but cuts deep enough to bleed, possibly as much as the lacerations on my arms earlier. My vision was blurring, but I could see that Sora had been hit hard too, as he was struggling to stay standing.

“N-No... Hang on!” I heard him get out. “H-Heka...”

But with Sora severely injured, his Persona as struggling to move as well. Somehow, I had managed to sit up, but all I could do was hold my side that had been hit the hardest. With the pain that had exploded there, I suspected one of my ribs had been at least cracked.

Ugh… I _had_ to get up… I had to do _something_ …

“ _HAHAHAHAHAHA!”_ Shadow Iruka laughed maniacally. _“NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE ON THE VERY BOTTOM!”_

My vision was dotted with black, the edges beginning to completely rendered useless with darkness. I was going to pass out. There was no avoiding it-

“PSYKHE!”

A dark blur flew across the room and slammed into the Shadow, hitting it so hard it was flipped over. The ground shook as its back hit the ground. For a moment, I was stunned, but the next thing I knew, I was feeling the soothing sensation of Dia covering my body. And then I suddenly felt I could stand again, and indeed managed to pull myself back up onto my feet.

“Are you okay, Senpai?!”

I looked over to see, much to my surprise, my cousin, her naginata in her hands.

“Sonomi?!” My eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”

“You think I'm just going to stand back while you're getting smacked around by a Shadow you're not strong enough to beat?” She shook her head. “No way! I'm going to help you.”

Looking over at Sora, I saw that his pockets looked less full—which meant he must have used the medicines my mother gave us to heal himself, and then used his Persona to heal me, when Sonomi took Shadow Iruka by surprise.

“It still hasn't gotten up yet,” Sora said, turning towards us. “We should attack it!”

“Yes,” I agreed, adjusting my grip on my sword. “Let's go all out.”

With that, we charged the Shadow. The three of us used our weapons to unleash the most damage we could possibly do before the thing was able to get back up.

I just... let my anger go. My anger about everything—my friends' pain, my inability to help them, my own weaknesses. I was so used to holding in my emotions, but I knew well enough that I could no longer just hold it all in. It was... It was too much. And Iruka's issues all stemmed from keeping quiet about how he really felt. And… I probably had the same problem, if we're being honest.

And as we moved back, the Shadow lurched forward, darkening in the same fashion that Sora's had. And finally, Shadow Iruka collapsed. We just stood there for a moment as he reverted back to human form.

Sweat was dribbling down the back of my neck, and my bangs were plastered to my forehead. I was breathing heavily, unaccustomed to such intense physical activity. My head was pounding so hard, I wouldn't be surprised if it just split in too. The chances of me just collapsing again were very high right now.

But… All I cared about right now was that we had protected Iruka.

“Is everyone all right?” Sonomi asked as we all called back our Personas.

“I'm fine,” Sora answered, nodding, before looking at me. “Rui?”

“I'll be fine,” I lied, not wanting them to worry about me instead of Iruka.

But… with how Sora's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, I had a feeling he didn't believe me. I wouldn't be surprised if he could see through my facade. I was exhausted, and barely standing on my feet. But… Iruka was our priority right now, not me.

Reaching up to brush my damp bangs away from my eyes, I turned around. Sora and Sonomi did as well. Further back, Iruka was pulling himself back onto his feet. He looked at his Shadow self, who was now just standing there, before slowly walking up to us.

For a moment, all was silent. Iruka's face twisted into a grimace, and he squeezed his eyes shut, his hands once again clenching into fists at his sides. I wished there was some way I could comfort him.

“Urgh... Everything you said... is true.”

Sora and I moved closer, while Sonomi stayed where she was. I could see the pain in Iruka's eyes. It had to be so _hard_.. to accept the dark side of yourself. The side that you were ashamed of…

“I've always been jealous of my siblings and friends... I thought they were better off than me, or just plain _better_ than me. Everyone is so talented. Kazuo-nii is a regional champion in judo. Rie-nee is great with kids. Even _Kaya_ is the top student in her karate class.” Iruka sighed. “And then there's you three… Sora is a super talented idol, and Rui is the next great Shirogane detective. Akemi has her life set because of the inn.”

I could understand his feelings, in a way. Seeing my baby brother already incredibly intelligent at such a young age made me feel less brilliant at times.

“And I'm… I'm so _angry_ all the time.” Iruka squeezed his eyes shut. “No matter what I do, I can't shake it. I try so hard to do my best, but it's never good enough. I never even thought Akemi would like me that way, because I'm so… _lame_. I was always flirting with other girls because I thought I didn't stand a chance with her. I thought that even if I tried, someone better would come in and sweep her off her feet and take her away from me.”

I… could also understand that.

“Iruka-senpai...” Sonomi stepped up closer to us, biting her lip nervously before continuing. “Kaya-chan has always spoken highly of you, even if she teases you a lot. She looks up to you as her big brother. She doesn't think you're lame, and neither do I. And I'm sure Rui-san, Sora-senpai, and Akemi-senpai feel the same way.”

“Of course, man,” Sora said. “You're our best friend. Okay, so you're not 'talented' in the same way as us. But talents come in many forms, y'know? I've always thought you're one of the most down to earth people I've ever met, and that itself is a talent, in my opinion.”

I nodded in agreement, smiling a little at that. “You're also very reliable, Iruka. We all know we can count on you when we need help.”

Iruka's eyes widened. “You… You really think that?”

“Of _course_ we do,” Sora laughed, resting a hand on his hip. “If you were _really_ lame, we would've ditched you _ages_ ago. So you're _not_ lame. You're _cool_.”

I was half tempted to smack him for saying that, but I decided not to.

“See, Senpai? There's nothing to be worried about.” Sonomi smiled. “I know your anger won't go away easily, but everyone _does_ appreciate you.”

“Yeah...” Iruka managed a little smile. “Thanks, guys.” Then he turned back to face his Shadow Self. “But everything you said _is_ true… I've felt that way for a long time. You're me… and I'm you.”

Shadow Iruka nodded, and then, just like before, there was a flash of light, and the Shadow was replaced with his Persona.

It resembled a combination of a samurai and a knight. His skin seemed to be made of silver plated armor, with an incredibly robust build. His face was covered by a medieval knight's helmet, complete with a green plume. He had kusazuri—a skirt of armored plates—and wielded a yari, or straight-headed spear. Chains also hung from his kusazari.

_Thou art I… and I am thou…_

_By facing thyself, thou have found thy true strength._

_I am Montu, God of War_ _fare_ _, the Sun, and Valor._

And also just like before, the Persona transformed into a tarot card and merged with Iruka's body. As soon as that happened, he collapsed, and fell to his knees.

“We need to leave,” I said, turning to Sonomi as Sora began to help Iruka back up. “Can you show us the way out?”

My cousin nodded. “Yes, leave it to me.”

We would have to start our search for Akemi later, but at least now we would have Iruka able to fight with us. And that was enough to make me both relieved and happy. We _all_ needed to work together to save Akemi.


	10. ANKH

**RUI**

* * *

_Thursday, April 7th, 2039, Cloudy._

* * *

It _wasn't_ raining today. But I couldn't really enjoy it, seeing how exhausted I was. I barely was able to get up to prepare for school. Every movement felt forced. All I wanted to do was sleep… but considering that the school year had barely begun, I really shouldn't miss a day. Plus, there were a few things my friends and I needed to discuss after what happened yesterday.

I left the house on my own, since my sister had disappeared somewhere. I just hoped she was going to class and not skipping, like our father had a tendency to do during his sophomore year of high school. But at this point, with her attitude, I wouldn't be surprised.

And despite the fact that it wasn't raining… the cloudy sky really contributed to the gloomy atmosphere settling in on the town.

"Rui! Hey!"

I stopped, having barely moved down the street, and looked behind me to see Sora hurrying to catch up to me. This was a surprise, seeing as our homes weren't exactly close to each other. He must have abandoned his usual route to come find me.

"Sora?" I asked in said surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I just thought maybe we could walk to school together," he answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Since we don't really get that much time alone..."

"...Mmm. All right." I managed a tired smile, as it _did_ make me happy that he was thinking about us in all this chaos. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

His face lit up in a bright grin. "Awesome! Thanks for agreeing."

"There's no need to thank me, Sora," I laughed softly. "Let's get going. We don't want to be late."

"Right," he agreed, following me as I started walking again. "How are you feeling today? I know the fight took a lot out of you."

"...I'm fine, Sora."

"You don't have to lie to me, you know."

I grimaced. "I'm not-"

"Rui, I know you're trying to keep on a strong face as the leader," he said, his seriousness continuing to catch me off guard. "But you really _don't_ have to do that around me. I see right through it anyways. I've been in showbiz long enough to be able to tell when someone's faking it."

I sighed heavily. "Sora, I… I can't."

"Why not?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "'Cause that means you have to face your Shadow too? You're the only one out of us that got their Persona without facing their Shadow."

"No… it has nothing to do with that." I shook my head. "I just… _can't_ , okay?"

"...For someone full of answers, that sure is a lame one," Sora muttered.

"I… I'm sorry."

"I'm only trying to help you, Rui," he sighed.

"I know..."

Sora was being hard, but… he had every right to be. And he was correct, of course… Perhaps my problem with expressing my feelings was worse than Iruka's. I was so used to bottling it up, to having to behave maturely regardless of how I felt because of my position, that actually saying how I truly was feeling seemed impossible. It wasn't like I _wanted_ to hide my emotions… was it?

No… Of course not. Why would I want to hide something from my boyfriend?

"Sorry to bring up such a gloomy topic," Sora muttered. "I wanted to spend time with you, and I _had_ to talk about that..."

"It's fine, Sora."

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he kept his mouth shut. But now we had reached Yasogami, so there was no more time to discuss this. I just hoped this wouldn't become a recurring argument…

* * *

"Sheesh, that couldn't've dragged on any longer," Iruka groaned.

The bell had rung, signaling the end of the day. The boys had already gotten up from their seats, but I was still sitting, feeling just as exhausted as I had this morning. It wasn't going away anytime soon, it seemed… which would slow down rescuing Akemi.

"Hey, Rui," Iruka said, catching my attention. "Are we going _you-know-where_ today?"

"...No," I sighed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling very well."

"Oh..." He made a face. "Well, that's okay..."

It clearly was _not_ okay.

"We do need to have a meeting, however," I said, finally forcing myself to stand up.

"I figured as much," Sora said. "There's something I have to take care of real quick, so where do you want to meet?"

"How about Junes?" Iruka suggested. "We can all grab something to eat at the food court too, to look less suspicious."

"All right, that sounds good," I agreed. Food would hopefully give me more energy as well. "Let's meet half an hour from now. Is that a sufficient amount of time?"

"Yeah, that's good." Sora pulled out his phone, probably checking the time. "Shit, I'm gonna be late! Ms. Ochimizu is gonna kill me!"

Before either of us could question what he was talking about, Sora gathered his things and bolted, leaving us behind in the classroom. Ochimizu… Sora had said that name before, and I felt I should remember who she was, but I couldn't. Ugh… I really wish my PCS would go away already.

"Well… I'm gonna go too, then," Iruka said, picking up his backpack. "See you later, Rui."

"...Goodbye," I mumbled as he walked out of the classroom.

Honestly… Sora's words to me from earlier were still bothering me. That, mixed with my fatigue, had put me in a melancholy mood. Sighing to myself, I gathered up my own things and decided to leave. There was no point in staying. Perhaps relaxing at home a little would help.

But as soon as I stepped out of the room, I bumped into my cousin.

"Oh, Rui-san, I was just coming to find you!" Sonomi looked relieved I had come out right as she arrived. "Are we having that meeting?"

"Yes," I answered. "In half an hour."

"Um, that's good, because..." She winced. "Kohaku wasn't in class today..."

My eyes narrowed. "She wasn't?"

Sonomi shook her head. "No… And, um… I've heard rumors..."

"Rumors about what?" I inquired.

"U-Um..." She bit her bottom lip. "That she's been seeing Kenta Adachi..."

For a moment, I wasn't sure I heard her right. I swore she just said my little sister was dating the son of a serial killer. And not just any serial killer, but the murderer that had ravaged this town. The murderer that instigated the kidnappings of both of our parents. No, my sister would not be _that_ stupid… Those rumors _had_ to be false.

...But that would explain her recent behavior, now that a thought about it…

I pressed a hand to my temple. "Great. Just _great_. I haven't even heard if Kenta came today either."

Sonomi's eyes widened. "Are we going to look for her?"

"What do you think? Of course we are." I looked around the hallway. "I know exactly who to ask where Kenta is."

Kenta Adachi, as his name should make obvious, was the son of Tohru Adachi, the murderer that struck Inaba all those years ago. I had no idea how it was even physically possible for Kenta to exist, as his father was locked in jail for the rest of his life, but he was very much real.

He was my age, and I suppose you could say he was one of the children I grew up with, like the majority of the students in my year, since Inaba was so small. But he had always been a troublemaker, and had become even more of a delinquent in middle school. Kenta had never gotten along with my friends and me. He especially seemed to hold a grudge on Sora.

"O-Okay!" Sonomi exclaimed nervously. "I'll, um, just follow you, then..."

I had spotted said person further down the hallway, and wasted no time walking right up to him.

"Takahashi, I need information right now," I said, cutting straight to the chase.

His name was Jiro Takahashi, and he was one of the delinquents in our school. He was a good friend of Kenta's, and they had been the two main bullies when we were young. He was tall, probably around six foot, with broad shoulders and musculature that most guys were probably envious of. His hair, which I recalled was black, was now bleached blond, a stark contrast to his light brown skin and dark eyes. He clearly used gel to sweep it back away from his forehead. He was wearing a tightly fitting black shirt with a white skull and crossbones on it, his gakuran jacket hanging from his shoulders, and combat boots as his deviance from the uniform. He also had more piercings than I remembered—nose, snake bites, ear, and cartridge.

"Well well well, lookie who we have here," he chuckled, a playful smirk tugging on his lips as lollipop stick he was chewing on shifted. "Sure thing, Shirogane. But what's in it for me?"

...Figures.

"Oh, I don't know," I said, really not in the mood to play games with him. "How about… _I don't kick Kenta's ass for messing with my sister._ "

Most people called Kenta by his first name, due to his last name being associated with his murderer of a father.

Takahashi snorted. "A li'l thing like you? Good one, Shirogane!"

"Do you want to test me?" I asked icily, narrowing my eyes.

"Uh..." The color drained from his face. "Now that ya mention it… I don't think I need anythin'. Narukami prolly'd kick my ass anyway."

"Good," I said, crossing my arms over my chest and choosing to ignore the mention of Sora. "Where is Kenta, Takahashi?"

"The usual place," he answered, still sounding nervous. "The hideout in the ol' abandoned Yamamoto mansion on the outskirts of town. Your sis was skippin' with 'im, last time I checked."

...Of course she was. Ugh. There was no way we could walk to the old mansion, and then walk back in time for the meeting. Besides… I probably didn't even have the energy for that.

"Tell me, Takahashi," I said, keeping my hard, icy tone. "What exactly is my sister doing with Kenta?"

He laughed, another smirk forming on his lips. "Isn't it _obvious_? What else would a hot chick be doin' with a guy long enough to miss a day of school?"

...That girl was dead meat when she came home. I was _so_ kicking her ass.

"Thank you for the information," I said, fighting the urge to grumble out loud.

"Anytime, babe," he said, giving me a wink.

"...Call me that again, and I'll break your nose."

* * *

Like I said, the mansion was much too far away to walk to and drag Haku out of there. So I had no choice but to wait for her to come home… if she came home at all. After apologizing to Sonomi for her having to listen to that crap, we left Yasogami and decided to just head straight to Junes.

As usual, Junes was bustling with activity, but we immediately headed to the food court. I wanted to get some food before the meeting to see if that helped me feel better. Now that my anger towards my sister had faded, I was back to feeling exhausted.

After ordering a large fry to share between the two of us and two sodas, we found a table to sit at, and began to eat, while waiting for the boys to arrive. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait _too_ long. Iruka was the first to show up, arriving a little early. He had ordered some steak—which wasn't that big of a surprise—before joining us. Sora, on the other hand, was running a little late…

"Sheesh, maybe we should have scheduled this later," Iruka said as he was chewing.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," I chided him.

He swallowed. "Thanks, Mom."

"I don't think he should be that much longer..." Sonomi said quietly. "Ms. Ochimizu is known to talk a lot. And if she's meeting with Sora-senpai while he's on hiatus, it must be important."

"...Who exactly is she?" I asked, silently cursing my memory.

"Oh, she's a manager that works for Takura Productions," Sonomi answered. "She produces the Love Meets Bonds Festival that happens every year, too."

"Wow..." Iruka looked impressed. "You sure know a lot about idols, Sonomi."

"H-Huh?" Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. "I… I'm just a fan, is all..."

"Sorry I'm late!"

Just like expected, Sora appeared moments later. He plopped down into the seat between Iruka and me, and let out a tired sigh.

"Phew, I'm done running around town for a while..." He looked at all of us. "So… did I miss anything?"

"Oh, nothing too unusual," I said. "Just me finding out my sister has been screwing Kenta Adachi."

Sora promptly spat out the water he had been drinking. "Wait, _what_?! _Our_ Kenta Adachi?!"

"I wasn't aware there was another one."

"That… is so wrong… _on so many levels_ ," Iruka got out through his shock.

"Um… I don't understand," Sonomi mumbled. "What do you mean by 'screwing'?"

...Someone protect this innocent. Seriously. If the love boat didn't shatter her innocence, then spending time with my male friends surely would. _Especially if Iruka couldn't keep his big mouth shut_.

Speaking of Iruka's big mouth, he looked like he was about to say something, but I quickly gave him a look that said _Don't you dare_.

"Don't worry about it, Sonomi," I said, continuing to give Iruka that look. "It's not important."

"Um… Okay." She didn't look too convinced. "If you say so..."

"I can't believe it..." Sora was astounded. "Kenta beat me at something else..."

"...Excuse me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"U-Uh… I mean… n-not that I care about that kind of thing!" he quickly stammered out. "I don't care! At all! Nope, not me!"

"Dude… you seriously need to get laid," Iruka said.

"Iruka!" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"Don't tell me that!" Sora whined. "It's against the rules… UH. Not that I… even have someone… i-in mind?"

I didn't even say anything this time. I just reached up and smacked him upside the back of his head.

"OW! H-Hey, I'm sorry! Sorata just slips out sometimes, I swear!"

...Hmph. Apparently not enough for him to kiss me. We hadn't kissed since he asked me to be his girlfriend.

Poor Sonomi looked so confused, but I rather her be confused than actually know what the boys were talking about.

"Shall we actually get on topic?" I asked. "I wanted us to meet here for a reason."

"Yeah… Sorry." Iruka seemed to have _finally_ calmed down. "About rescuing Akemi, right?"

I nodded. "Yes. I believe we need to make this an official investigation. There are cases that parallel Akemi's across the country. For all we know, there could be others after we rescue her."

"...That's a good point," Sora sighed. "So, like… you think we should form a team like our parents did?"

"Yes, I think that would be the best course of action."

"A team, huh..." Iruka's face lit up. "We could call ourselves… _Amazing Neo Kickass Heroes_!"

We all stared at him like he had finally gone insane.

"Uh… how about _no_ ," Sora retorted.

"Hey! What ideas do _you_ have for a name then?" he demanded with a huff.

Silence fell as we all tried to think of a name better than Amazing Neo Kickass Heroes. But… regrettably… I was so tired, nothing good was coming to mind. School had used up all my thinking brain power. I could feel a headache coming on just from trying.

"...I've got nothing," Sora grumbled.

"Me neither," I sighed.

"Same," Sonomi muttered.

"Haha! Score! One point for Iruka!" he cheered, smiling smugly. "Amazing Neo Kickass Heroes wins!"

...Sometimes, I hate my life.

"We can call ourselves… ANKH for short," I said, knowing there was no way in _hell_ I was using that full name.

"ANKH?" Sora frowned a little. "I can deal with that."

"It's not too bad," Sonomi agreed.

"Awww, you guys are no fun!" Iruka pouted.

_Thou am I… And I am thou._

_Thou have established a new bond._

_Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana._

* * *

I hung out with my friends for a little longer, until it got to the time where we all needed to head home. Sonomi and I parted ways with the boys and began the walk home. At least the food we shared did give me some more energy so I was able to make it home without any problems.

I chose to head straight up to my room to rest until dinner. But as I passed down the hallway, I noticed Haku and Sonomi's door was slightly ajar. Pausing, I decided to lightly knock on the door and peek inside.

"Haku?"

She was inside, as I had hoped. She was sitting on a black beanbag wedged into one of the corners of the room, a notebook and pencil in her hands, like she was writing something.

She scowled as soon as she noticed me. "What do _you_ want?"

I narrowed my eyes, opening the door the rest of the way. "Do Mom and Dad know you skipped school today?"

Haku just glared at me harder. "No. So what? It's not like they care anyways."

"What on earth makes you say that?" I demanded.

"Oh, please, don't act so oblivious. We all know you and Yori are the favorites." She glowered down at her notebook. "They don't give a shit about me."

...So my sister had developed an inferiority complex, most likely due to her being the middle child… That explained a lot, actually… But it made me wonder… if she actually did _hate_ me… if she had hated me all these years for being stuck in my shadow…

"That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard," I retorted.

"Well, I guess I'm absurd then," she snapped. "What the hell do you want, anyways? Did you just come here to lecture me about school? 'Cause I don't give _two shits_ about stupid education."

"...No. No, I didn't." I sighed, trying to take a breath to calm myself before I got too angry. "I found out about you and Kenta today. I _cannot_ believe you're sleeping with him."

Haku scowled. "Who the hell are _you_ to judge me? You can't even _talk_ , Rui, not with you and Sora!"

"...What's _that_ supposed to mean?" I demanded.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, _really_? You can't tell me you haven't fucked when half the time all you do is make _goo-goo eyes_ at each other."

I… We… What?

"We do _not_ make 'goo-goo eyes' at each other!" I retorted defensively.

"So… you're _not_ denying it?"

Ugh… How could I give an honest answer if I couldn't even remember?

"How do you expect me to answer when you _know_ that I don't remember everything in the past?" I demanded.

"Damn. You can't even remember having sex." She shook her head. "Sucks to be you."

"Ugh! You are _impossible_ to talk to!" I exclaimed in exasperation. "Fine, believe whatever the hell you want, but you better not spread this as a rumor, because you'll ruin Sora's _life_."

Haku scowled. "I'm not _that_ much of a bitch. I'm not a big fan of your little boytoy, but I'm not gonna rat on you. Chill."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "I'm trusting you, Haku." With that, I turned to step back out of the door. "Just… be careful with Kenta."

Having nothing left to say to her, I left the room, shutting the door behind me, and headed to my own room to finally get some much needed rest.

**Author's Note:**

> This, as you can tell, is a second gen fic featuring the children of the characters in Persona 4 and Persona 3, but mainly the former. It's a remake of the original version, which got out of hand, but this will be much better.
> 
> For those of you that are old readers, I will say you're in for quite a few surprises. The changes I've made make this a very different story, but I like this version much better.
> 
> But thank you for sticking with me, and welcome to new readers! I hope you enjoy.
> 
> (Taken from the version on FF.net since I'm too lazy to type something else oops)


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